BANGALORE (India), January 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and India plan to form a titanium production joint venture, the Russian defense minister said Monday.

"An agreement on the formation of a Russian-Indian joint venture for the production of titanium dioxide and other titanium products using funds received from India's repayment of its debt to Russia is planned to be signed during the Russian president's visit to Delhi," Sergei Ivanov, who is also Russia's deputy prime minister, said.

India's debt to Russia is about 40 billion rupees ($900 million) and the countries have been in talks on investing the debt in joint projects in India rather than traditional purchases of Indian products.

Ivanov said the world's leading titanium producer Vsmpo-Avisma, which is based in the Perm Territory in the Urals and controls a third of the world's titanium market, had confirmed its readiness to consider forming a joint venture with India to produce titanium, which is widely used in military-oriented products. The titanium giant is controlled by Russian arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport.