Milestones in the History of Indo-Russian Military Cooperation
Allister Maunk, AIA Indian section
The first stage:
1993 Visit of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin to India, the new Russian - Indian Friendship treaty and cooperation was signed.
1996 - Agreement on military cooperation was signed.
1999 - Visit of Russian Minister of Defense Igor Sergeev to India.
The second stage:
2000 - State visit of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to India, the Declaration on strategic partnership between the countries is signed.
2000 - Intergovernmental Russian - Indian commission on military- technological cooperation (the third session took place in January, 2003 in Moscow) was founded.
2000 - Long-term Program of military- technological cooperation was completed and realization of the new program up to 2010 started.
2001 - Joint naval exercise with participation of the Russian ships took place in India.
April 2002 Visit of Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes to Russia. Fernandes visited the factory producing T-90 main battle tanks for India.
November 2002 Visit to India of Russian State Duma`s Committee on Defense chairman Andrey Nikolaev and Committee of Council of Federation on Defense chairman Victor Ozerov.
January 2003 - Visit of Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes to Russia. The arrangement on the new military - technical contract: participation of New Delhi in developmental works and manufacture of the Russian fighter of the fifth generation was reached.
May 2003 - Joint naval exercise of the Russian and Indian fleet "Indra -2003" took place.
October 2003 Visit of Indian Air Forces commander-in-chief Srinivaspuram Krishnasvami to Moscow.
November 2003 - Visit of Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov to India.
January 2004 The number of the Indian officers who arrived for training in the Russian military educational institutions reached one thousand.
December 2004 - Official visit of President Putin and Minister of Defense Ivanov to India. Joint declaration of the Russian Federation and Republic of India and the Cooperation agreement in the field of research and use of space for peaceful purposes was signed. Several large military contracts were also concluded.
May 2005 - Indian President Abdul Kalam discusses several military issues with Russian leadership.
Until the end of 2005 Joint military exercises of paratrooper forces are planned to take place in India.
Russia will build 12 nuclear reactors in India, half of them by 2017, and sell an aircraft carrier and MiG fighter jets, officials say.
Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, announced in New Delhi on Friday that six of the reactors would be built between 2012 and 2017.
Kiriyenko is accompanying Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, on a visit to India to sign a series of lucrative arms and energy deals.
Russia is not enthusiastic about Delhi's growing relationship with the US. But at the same time president points out that India needs to understand that for the next 15-20 years her dependence on Russian military hardware and spares will continue........