Having pledged extensive military-technical cooperation until 2030, India and Russia are also working on having joint manufacturing of military equipment in Central Asia.

According to reports, both countries, during the 2+2 talks held in New Delhi earlier this month just before the India-Russia Summit, have exchanged a white paper on using Soviet era facilities in Central Asia for production of more defence equipment.

India's engagement with the region is expected to grow further with heads of state from the Central Asian countries expected to be in New Delhi for the Republic Day celebrations next month.

India and Russia had signed an agreement on a programme of military-technical cooperation until 2030 in the presence of the Ministers of Defence of both the countries, including Rajnath Singh and Sergei Shoigu just ahead of the meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 6.

The agreement implies cooperation between the branches and branches of the armed forces, and also affects the supply and development of weapons and military equipment.

The head of the Russian military called the trust between Russia and India "unprecedented" with the cooperation between the two countries reaching a new qualitative level every year.

"The unprecedented level of trust between our countries is evidenced by the intensity and depth of military-technical cooperation, which is reaching a new qualitative level every year," Shoigu had said in the Indian capital.

The Russian minister said he was convinced that the military-technical cooperation will further strengthen the relations between Russia and India.

"We are focused on fruitful joint work. I am convinced that the dialogue between the foreign policy and defence departments of the two countries will make a serious contribution to the formation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and the provision of global and regional security," he said.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com earlier this month, India, along with China, Algeria, Egypt, Vietnam and Myanmar, remained amongst Russia's main partners in the field of military-technical cooperation during 2021 – a year which has been labeled as "extraordinary" for the country's defence capability by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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