Chief of the Army Staff Dhiraj Seth. File photo.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a three-day trip to Russia on Sunday (December 8, 2024) to witness the commissioning of a stealth warship into the Indian Navy and hold talks with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov on the expansion of bilateral cooperation in co-production of Military hardware.

The Russian-manufactured multi-role stealth-guided missile frigate Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tushil will be commissioned on Monday (December 9, 2024) in the coastal city of Kaliningrad.

The warship, billed as one of the most technologically advanced frigates globally, is expected to significantly bolster the Indian Navy’s operational capability in the Indian Ocean, a region that has witnessed increasing Chinese forays.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi will accompany Mr. Singh to the commissioning ceremony.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to the Russian Federation from December 8 to 10, an official readout said on Saturday (Dec. 7).

It said that Defence Minister Singh and Mr. Belousov will co-chair the 21st meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in Moscow on December 10 (2024).

The Defence Minister’s visit to Russia comes five months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Moscow and held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the talks, both sides decided to further bolster two-way Defence ties.

Defence Minister Singh and Mr. Belousov will review the entire range of multi-faceted relations between the two countries in the field of Defence, including Military-to-military and industrial cooperation, the Defence Ministry said in the readout.

“They will also exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest,” it said.

People familiar with Mr. Singh’s visit said India-Russia cooperation in the co-production of Military hardware will figure prominently in the talks between the two Defence Ministers.

“As part of the visit, the Defence Minister will also commission the Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate ‘INS Tushil’ at Yantra Shipyard, Kaliningrad on December 9 (2024),” the Ministry said.

It said Defence Minister Singh will also pay tributes at “The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” in Moscow to honour the Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War.

He is also scheduled to interact with the members of the Indian community in Moscow.