India, Russia to sign several bilateral agreements during PM's Moscow visit

New Delhi, Dec 14 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will be embarking upon a two-day visit to Moscow on Thursday for the 12th annual Summit meeting with the leadership of the Russian Federation.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai in his opening statement to the media ahead of the visit said the Prime Minister would have a restricted meeting followed by a delegation-level talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on December 16, who would also be hosting a luncheon banquet in Dr. Singh's honour.

"Separately, the two leaders would have a joint interaction with Indian and Russian CEOs. PM would also be meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin," he added.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by the National Security Adviser, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and senior officials, besides a large media contingent.

Several captains of Indian trade and industry will be travelling separately to Moscow to participate in the CEOs meeting. It would be co-chaired on the Indian side by Ravi Kant, Vice-Chairman and MD, Tata Motors, and on the Russian side by V.P. Evtushenkov, Chairman, AFK Sistema.

This will be the Prime Minister's fourth Annual Summit meeting with President Medvedev, since the latter assumed Presidency in 2008.

"Reflective of our time-tested and multifaceted relations, India and Russia had agreed on holding Annual Summit meetings in 2000, during the visit of then President Putin, when we had also decided to elevate our ties to the level of Strategic Partnership. Russia and now Japan, are the only two of our partners, with which we institutionalized the practice of Annual Summits," said Mathai.

"Energetic efforts have been underway on both sides, to not only maintain the momentum, but also infuse greater content in our robust bilateral ties. In the last few months, bilateral visits and talks have taken place at the levels of Home, Defense, Commerce, Health, Tourism, Steel and Power Ministers," he added.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna had led a delegation to Moscow last month for the Inter-Governmental Commission Meeting, to prepare for the forthcoming Summit.

Mathai said India and Russia enjoy a diversified partnership spanning the fields of defence, nuclear energy, hydrocarbons, space, science and technology, education, trade and culture.

"It is precisely for these reasons that last year, we elevated our Strategic Partnership to a 'special and privileged status'," he added.

Stating that Russia is a key partner in India's quest for energy security, Mathai said : "We have excellent cooperation with Russia in the field of hydrocarbons, renewable and civil nuclear energy. ONGC (Videsh) Ltd. has completed a decade of profitable investment in the Sakhalin I project. Some long term LNG supply contracts have been signed in recent months between companies of both sides."

"The March 2010 Inter-Governmental Agreement lays down the broad roadmap for our partnership in the area of civil nuclear energy. Construction of Kudankulam 1 and 2 nuclear power plants Units are nearing completion with Russian technology. We are also in discussion on the techno-commercial aspects of Units 3 and 4 of Kudankulam," he added.

Mathai informed that India and signed an MoU with Russia in June on setting up the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, to be located in Haryana, to undertake advanced studies in the field of nuclear research along with other partners.

Asserting that the defence cooperation has for long been a vital facet of the relationship between the two sides, Mathai said: " We have since moved well beyond a buyer-seller relationship to co-production through transfer of technologies."

"We are quite pleased with our cooperation in the Space sector. In April we launched the Youthsat from Sriharikota. The satellite is the fruit of efforts put in by a group of Indian and Russian University students. Work is underway on the Chandrayaan-2 mission and manned Space Flight programmes, as well as, adoption and applications of GLONASS technologies," he added.

Speaking about the trade and economic ties with Russia, Mathai said: "Our trade and economic ties are growing but are still way below their actual potential. Bilateral trade is expected to be around 9 billion dollar this year. We have set a target of US 20 billion dollars by 2015 and have identified thrust sectors including pharmaceuticals, information technology, food products and Gems and Jewellery to help attain the target."

"We also find good prospects for cooperation in the mining and fertilizers sectors. It is for this reason that the CEOs meeting assumes a certain importance," he added.

Mathai said India and Russia enjoy a similarity of outlook on a host of regional and international issues.

"We have welcomed Russia's inclusion in the East Asian Summit process and its initiatives on global fight against piracy and terrorism. Our common outlook on the menace of terrorism has been underlined on several occasions, including through the Moscow Declaration on International Terrorism in November 2001," said Mathai.

"The issue of terrorism and the situation in our respective neighbourhoods are likely to figure in the upcoming Summit discussions," he added.

The Foreign Secretary said Russia and India have been working well together in forums like G20, BRICS and UN.

"India would he hosting and chairing the next BRICS meeting in New Delhi in March 2012. The Summit level discussions would seek to further strengthen bilateral consultation and coordination in this regard," said Mathai.

"There is a strong national consensus in India on having the closest of ties with Russia. And that is also what makes our relations with Russia 'special and privileged'. A number of bilateral documents are likely to be signed during the visit. A 'Joint Declaration' will also be issued during PM's stay in Moscow reflecting the wide canvas of our cooperation and a common worldview," he added. (ANI)