New Delhi (Sputnik) — India and Russia have decided to launch an all-new department under the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Co-operation (IRIGC-MTC) to bring each other's militaries closer than ever before. The department will focus on enhancing military interactions, reviving lapsed bilateral military programs and providing a further boost to joint training and military exercises.
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"The new department is aimed to create more jointmanship at the military level of the two countries. The first meeting is expected in December this year," an official source told Sputnik.
During the annual bilateral summit held in New Delhi earlier this month, the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to enhance military-technical cooperation considered an important pillar of strategic partnership. The new roadmap for military cooperation has paved way for greater interaction between the militaries of both countries, including in training, exchange of senior functionaries of the militaries, staff talks, and exercises.
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"Both sides expressed satisfaction at the significant progress made on the ongoing projects of military-technical cooperation and recognized the positive shift towards joint research and joint production of military-technical equipment between the two countries," the joint statement issued after the Putin-Modi meet read.