At least six senior executives from leading Indian defence companies, including Adani Defence and Bharat Forge, participated in rare meetings in Russia this year to explore potential joint ventures, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.
These meetings marked the first visit by India’s defence industry leaders to Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the trip had not been previously disclosed. The Indian government is aiming to reshape its longstanding defence relationship with Russia, with a focus on the joint development of weapon systems.
However, any collaboration with Russia could complicate Indian defence firms’ plans to develop Western weapons in partnership with international companies, a key element of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy to transform India — one of the world’s largest arms importers — into a global defence manufacturing hub.
Western diplomats have previously said that a key obstacle to the transfer of sensitive military technology to India is its defence ties with Russia and the vast amount of Russian-origin arms used by the Indian military, totalling about 36%.
The talks in Moscow were held on the sidelines of a visit by an Indian defence-industrial delegation on October 29-30, headed by India’s Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar, that was aimed at laying the ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India on December 4-5.
A spokesperson for Adani Group denied that executives from any of its firms attended the meetings. India’s defence ministry and the other firms cited by the sources did not respond to requests for comment.
Indian firms, however, would be hesitant about striking new deals with Russia due to the risk of secondary sanctions, an Indian executive said.
While India can use diplomatic outreach and lobbying to offer some protection from sanctions, an Indian defence official said the firms would have to factor in the political risks themselves.
Source: Shafaqna India
