Armenia Defence Minister visits India, holds talks with Rajnath Singh in Gandhinagar
Armenia Defence Minister Suren Papikyan conducted talks with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Gandhinagar on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022
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Gandhinagar, Oct 18: A delegation headed by Armenia Minister of Defence Suren Papikyan is on a visit to India. According to the latest tweet of Raksha Mantri Office, Suren Papikyan conducted talks with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Gandhinagar on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022, India's biggest-ever defence exhibition.
"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh meeting the Defence Minister of Republic of Armenia, Mr Suren Papikyan in Gandhinagar," the RMO tweeted.
As reported earlier, India has signed a deal with Armenia to supply weapons worth Rs 2,000 crore amid escalation border tensions with Azerbaijan. It has signed deals that include a number of contracts with Armenia for the supply of ammunition, missiles, and rockets.
It also includes the first-ever export of Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher systems by India. Designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Pinaka MBRLs are manufactured by private sector defense companies.
Armenia will also receive ammunition and anti-tank rockets from India. This is not the first time India is exporting defence equipment to Armenia. In 2020, the country signed a deal with India for the purchase of four Swathi weapon locating radars. The deal was significant because Russian and Polish vendors were also in the race to sell radars to Armenia.
Also Read: India to export weapons worth Rs 2000 cr to Armenia amid border conflict with Azerbaijan
It is pertinent to mention that Armenia is fighting Azerbaijan which is backed by countries like Pakistan and has received weapons from Rawalpindi. Pakistan's relations with Azerbaijan have been close over the last few decades, so much so that Islamabad refuses to recognize Armenia to this day.
Turkey, another country that has lent support to Pakistan's territorial revisionism in Kashmir, supports Azerbaijan in the conflict. Amid tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2021, India had sided with the former. Without naming Azerbaijan, New Delhi had told the country to "pull back forces immediately and cease any further provocation".
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