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| Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin in New Delhi |
New Delhi: India and Russia signed new defence deals worth around $4 billion
(Rs 22,000 crore) during President Vladimir Putin's short visit to India on
Monday at the 13th India-Russia Annual Summit.
The signed agreement will equip the Indian Air force (IAF) with
Mi-17 and Su-30 MKI aircraft.
India will shell out nearly $3 billion ( Rs. 16,666 crore)
to add 42 Su-30 MKI fighter planes to the IAF's fleet of 230 Sukhois.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh undertook an extensive review of bilateral cooperation, especially in the
field of nuclear energy and discussed ways to expedite an agreement for nuclear
reactor 3 and 4 at Kudankulam.
“Negotiations for the construction of Units 3 and 4 at
Kudankulam have made good progress. We intend to continue implementing the
Roadmap for cooperation in the nuclear energy sector that was signed during
President Putin’s visit in 2010 as the then Prime Minister of Russia,” Manmohan
Singh was quoted saying in a government press release.
The venue of the meeting between the two leaders was shifted
at the last minute from Hyderabad House to 7, Race Course Road, the official
residence of the Prime Minister in view of the large-scale protests after the
gangrape incident in the Capital.
India and Russia share the objective of a stable, united,
democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, free from extremism, terrorism and
external interference.
Besides, defence pact Mr Putin and Mr Singh also talk the
security situation in the region, including Afghanistan.
India and Russia share the objective of a stable, united,
democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, free from extremism, terrorism and
external interference. We reviewed the ongoing developments in Afghanistan, and
agreed to work together against threats posed by extremist ideologies and drug
trafficking.,” said Mr. Singh.
“We also discussed the situation in West Asia, and agreed to
continue consultations, “he added.
All key bilateral issues, including defence, space, trade
and investment, science and technology, education, culture and tourism were
discussed in the meeting which also witnessed Russians raising their concerns
over the issue of Sistema.
However, official sources only said "the issue
(Sistema) was discussed" and did not divulge any more details.
Sistema, with investment of $3.1 billion, has 56.68 per cent
stake in Shyam Sistema Teleservices (SSTL) whose 21 out of 22 licences were
cancelled by the Supreme Court on February 2 as irregularities were found in
their allocation.
Russian Government, which has a stake of 17.14 per cent in
the company, has since been expressing concern and pressing India to ensure
protection of Sistema's investment.
Both the country discussed regional and global issues, on
many of which there is a marked congruence in our approach.
“Our consultations in international for a, such as the UN
Security Council and BRICS, have deepened during the year,” said Mr. Singh.
India welcomed Russia's recent accession to the WTO and both
sides agreed that it provided further opportunities to augment bilateral trade
and investment and business-to- business linkages. "In this context, they
called upon Russia- India Chief Executive Officers Council's meeting at the
earliest," a joint statement said.
Notably, the year 2012 marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of
the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia.