PM Modi pitches for Russian defence technology transfer to India for 3rd country exports

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to Russia, has suggested transfer of technology between the two countries to produce military equipment in a cost-effective manner. In an interview with TASS Russian News Agency, Prime Minister Modi said that if technologies are transferred, the production of weapons and other military equipment would be cheap in India.

The Prime Minister said that if this becomes a reality, India and Russia can “supply these weapons to third world countries at very low prices”. Modi added that New Delhi and Moscow “need to take advantage of this opportunity”.

According to Modi, both India and Russia are not interested in only “the relations between customer and seller of military technologies”, adding that the governments of both the countries are “sure about the model of transferring technologies”.


The Prime Minister arrived in Vladivostok city of Russia on Wednesday to participate in the 20th India-Russia annual summit and the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). He is also slated to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After landing in the far eastern Russian city, Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “Landed in Vladivostok, capital of the Russian Far East and the crossroads of a dynamic region. Looking forward to joining various programmes in this short but important visit.”