Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said India and Russia have resolved to “place scientific and technological cooperation at the centre of future relationship”.

He was speaking in the Russian city of Novosibirisk where the Fifth International Forum for Technological Development (Technoprom) is being held. Co-chairing with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin the inaugural meeting of the India-Russia high-level science and technology committee, Jaitley said this new mechanism will further energise “our partnership by opening up advanced areas of cooperation that will benefit our future generations”.

Stating that Technoprom, in the five years since its inception, has grown to become a leading international forum in the area of technology with over 50 business events and an impressive 6,000 participants, Jaitley said the focus this year was on breakthrough technologies in the scientific, technological and innovative fields.

With the two countries celebrating the current year as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Jaitley said “for India, relations with Russia are a key foreign policy priority. Russia has been a trusted and time-tested partner”.

Referring to defence cooperation, he said, “Our long standing and wide ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of military technical cooperation has graduated from a simple buyer-seller relationship to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence systems. The Brahmos Missile System and the licensed production of advanced Sukhoi 30 aircraft in India are recent highlights of our bilateral cooperation, which today covers practically all areas in defence.”

Jaitley said in the defence manufacturing sector, which is one of the key areas identified in the Make in India initiative, the government has started a series of policy and procedural changes to facilitate tie-ups, including joint ventures and technology partnerships between Indian and foreign companies.

In this context, he said, Russian companies, which already have a long experience of working in India and working with India, are well placed to take a leading role.

“In the latest edition of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) of 2016, we have introduced a new category of acquisition called ‘Buy (IDDM)’, wherein the first preference would be given to the equipment, which is designed, developed and manufactured within the country. We hope this will encourage Indian companies to invest in R&D and technology,” Jaitley said.

The Defence Minister invited Russian companies to come forward with proposals for technology transfer to Indian companies and facilitate manufacturing of more advanced components and parts and sub-systems. This can start with platforms of Russian origin where the requirement is in large numbers and is recurring in nature.