The fifth round of India-Russia Military Industrial Conference (IRMIC) was conducted on the sidelines of Defexpo-2020 at Lucknow on 6 February 2020. The conference was co-chaired by Indian Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar, and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russian Federation Mr. Oleg Ryazantsev. 14 MoUs were exchanged between the Russian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the Indian companies during the conference. Conference Highlights: The Ministers discussed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on the Joint manufacturing of spares in India which was signed at Vladivostok, Russia on 4 September 2019. The IGA provides a framework for the partnership of Russian OEMs with the Indian industry for the manufacturing of spare parts of Russian origin equipment in use by the Indian Defence Forces. India’s efforts to expedite the collaboration between the Indian and Russian Companies were highlighted. Russia reaffirmed its active participation in the collaborations under the ambit of the IGA. It also said that it will take all necessary steps to facilitate the manufacturing of parts in India. The also discussed the way forward to achieve the objectives of IGA under the Make in India initiative. Participants: A large number of delegates from the defence sector companies of India and Russia participated in the conference.
