MOSCOW, January 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's defense sector contracts are worth $22 billion, while military and technological cooperation with other nations totaled $6 billion last year, the defense minister said Wednesday.
When reporting to President Putin about the situation in the defense sector, Sergei Ivanov said several ambitious contracts had been signed in late December, and defense sector contracts for the next few years accounted for $22 billion.
He also said Russian Defense Ministry contracts alone would be worth $8.3 billion in 2006, up $1.9 billion on last year.
According to Ivanov, who is also deputy prime minister, Russia's military and technological cooperation with other countries was up $500 million year-on-year in 2005.
Ivanov said the monopoly of Rosoboronexport, state-owned arms trader, which holds 85% of the overseas market, had been reduced, and other companies had stepped up defense sector cooperation with their foreign partners.
The minister said exports of components had tripled in three years after the export procedure was simplified.
Ivanov also said that Russia had expanded cooperation in the defense sector, and now had partners in 82 countries.
