At the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Military Cooperation held in Moscow, representatives of both countries emphasized the importance of continuing to share knowledge and collaborate in areas of strategic interest.

The meeting was co-chaired by Lieutenant General JP Mathew, Chief of the Integrated Defense Staff of India, and Lieutenant General Igor Nikolaevich Dylevsky, Deputy Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, and was a success, according to an official statement released in New Delhi.

The meeting, which is part of the mechanisms of the Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), marked an important milestone in advancing the long-standing Strategic Partnership between the two countries, the ministry said, noting that both nations conducted numerous joint exercises in land, air and maritime domains.

Drills such as INDRA, AVIA INDRA and INDRA NAVY have served as vital platforms to share best practices, refine joint operational tactics exercises and procedures and deepen mutual understanding, the ministry noted.

Strengthening defence ties is part of the commitment established by both countries in 2000 with the signing of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, which in 2010 reached the highest level of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.

According to New Delhi, the working group is a crucial forum for defence cooperation that provides a platform to assess existing military commitments and identify new areas of collaboration to address evolving security challenges.

This meeting is a follow-up to the sub-working group’s meeting in July in the Indian capital, where participants reflected on initiatives within the scope of the existing bilateral mechanism, strengthened on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow and his talks with President Vladimir Putin.

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