MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's exports within its military and technical cooperation with other countries could exceed $6 billion from 2007, a senior government official said Thursday.
Director of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriyev said the volume of the exports of military and technical products was currently at more than $5 billion and had doubled in the past five years from $2.68 billion to $5.1 billion.
"This year we will meet the schedule as we did in the previous year," Dmitriyev said.
The official said Russia enjoyed the most successful strategic relations with India and China, which still accounted for 70% of Russia's military exports. He also said that there had been positive shifts in cooperation with the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.
Dmitriyev stressed a significant role of military and technical cooperation in maintaining and developing Russia's defense industry.
"We have not only managed to keep our defense enterprises afloat, maintain staff and technological potential and raise their financial and economic state, but have also improved the situation in terms of research, modernization and spurred serial production in some cases," he said.
Dmitriyev used the air defense sector as an example. He said the industry had become 100% operational and had made much progress in serial production.
