Armenia keen on strategic partnership with India: Minister
Mint. Mrkrtchyan also said that his country is keen to deepen defence ties with India. “We have cooperation in the defence and we are looking for what to make our cooperation much deeper," he said in response to a question about planned defence deals between the two countries.
This comes after India has stepped up arms sales and strategic support to Armenia amid its clashes with Azerbaijan. Located in the South Caucasus, Armenia clashed with neighbour Azerbaijan for control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. A short but intense conflict in 2020 saw Azerbaijan inflict severe military setbacks on Armenia.
Since then, the country’s defence ties with India have strengthened. Armenia purchased the Swathi weapon-locating radar system from India in 2020. Following this, a bilateral agreement was reached for New Delhi to provide Armenia ammunition and multi-barrel rocket launchers for Pinaka, as well as anti-tank munitions.
In November 2022, Kalyani Strategic Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge, won a $155 million contract to supply artillery guns to Armenia, according to numerous media reports citing defence ministry sources. This has brought closer strategic cooperation between the two countries. Armenia’s national security chief met with NSA Ajit Doval in August 2023, which came after a meeting between defence ministers Suren Papikyan and Rajanth Singh in October 2022.
Armenia is also keen to see Indian firms bid for tenders to construct infrastructure in the country, particularly for marquee projects like the country’s North-South Road, which runs along the length of the country. It connects Armenia’s southern border with Iran to the country’s northern border with Georgia. According to persons aware of
. Read more on livemint.com
