Defence, technology co-operation to be increased

India and Russia will increase collaboration in joint design, development, manufacturing and marketing of technology-driven products and scientific interaction between the two countries. In particular, such cooperation will extend to space applications, defence technologies, aviation, new materials, communications and information technology.

The two leaders see limitless opportunities for bilateral cooperation in outer space to advance societal applications and scientific knowledge. The space agencies of India and Russia will engage more actively on space technology applications, space transportation, satellite navigation, space science and planetary exploration.

By 2025, the time of the 50th anniversary of the launch Indian satellite Aryabhata using Soyuz launch vehicle, the two sides expect significant collaboration between India and Russia on peaceful uses of outer space.

In the field of defence, the two countries have already moved to a phase of joint design and development of defence systems. There are unlimited opportunities for enhancing this cooperation, increasingly based on joint research and development, joint manufacturing, technology sharing and collaborative research in futuristic technologies, in accordance with existing agreements on military-technical cooperation.

India has now permitted foreign direct investment in the defence sector up to 49 per cent. The sides will exploit these opportunities optimally and enrich bilateral interaction through regular joint military exercises, training in each other's services institutions and institutionalised consultations between the armed forces.

The two sides plan to intensify bilateral scientific and technological interaction to increasingly focus on innovative, high-technology sectors and their commercial applications. They will further develop various support mechanisms for joint research.

Their bilateral scientific and technological collaboration will cover frontier areas, such as environmental science, power sector (including alternative sources of energy), energy efficiency and energy security, information and communication technologies, nanotechnology and new materials, engineer science, bio-energy, nano-biotechnology, bio-equipment and affordable diagnosing equipment for healthcare and agriculture.

They will exchange scientific and technological manpower to build capacity for exchange of knowledge most relevant to the economies of the two countries. Further academic exchanges will also be promoted through schemes for visits by scientists that will enhance human resource capacity building in the science and technology sector. An action plan on this subject will be prepared.

The two agreed to facilitate scientific cooperation to study the challenges (like melting ice, climate change, marine life and biodiversity), facing the rapidly-changing Arctic region.

They also proposed to enhance cooperation in rare earth minerals' mining, technology development and research, including joint exploration and joint development of technologies for processing rare earth materials.