MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - The 9th meeting of the Russia-India intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation opened on Wednesday in Moscow.

The two-day event is chaired by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his Indian counterpart A. K. Antony, and focuses on extending the existing bilateral agreement on military-technical cooperation for another 10 years, until 2020.

The Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission sessions are held annually and alternate between New Delhi and Moscow.

The current cooperation program until 2010 comprises about 200 joint projects, including the modernization of the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (formerly the Admiral Gorshkov) for the Indian navy, the transfer of technology for the licensed assembly of T-90 tanks in India, the production of BrahMos missiles and the purchase of Smerch MLRS by India.

India has recently expressed an interest in the modernization of its fleet of Russian-made Su-30MKI fighter jets in service with its air force.