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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Putin’s India visit: New nuclear plants high on agenda
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Putin’s India visit: New nuclear plants high on agenda

Vladimir Putin dispels concerns about military cooperation between Russia and Pakistan, says India is a 'reliable and time-tested partner'

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFPPremium
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP

Moscow: Terming the ties with India as a “privileged strategic partnership", Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday disclosed that construction of new nuclear plants besides military and technical cooperation was high on the agenda during his visit to New Delhi.

Seeking to dispel the perception that Russia-India ties had lost some warmth, Putin described India as a “reliable and time-tested partner" although he spoke of a “gradual transition from the producer-consumer model to joint development and production of advanced weapons systems".

Dismissing concerns in India about military cooperation between Russia and Pakistan, Putin said “we have held talks on Russia’s possible assistance in improving effectiveness of counter-terrorism and anti-drug operations".

“In my view, this kind of cooperation serves the long-term interest of all countries in the region, including India," Putin told the Press Trust of India in an interview a day ahead of his arrival in the Indian capital on a 24-hour visit.

The Russian leader spoke warmly about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as a “reputable political leader, who has already made a significant personal contribution to the promotion of the Russian-Indian cooperation".

Putin said during his sixth visit to India, he looked forward to specific steps aimed at “strengthening the privileged strategic partnership" between the two countries during which particular attention would be given to expanding trade and economic links, besides boosting mutual investments.

Listing the joint strategic projects, the President said that these included construction of new units for Indian nuclear power plants, promotion of Russian Sukhoi superjet-100 and MS-21 passenger aircraft to Indian market besides manufacturing of helicopters and creating a “smart city" on the basis of Russian technology. Putin said Russia’s resources enable it to build upto 25 energy units in India.

According to experts, however, even these units may not meet the needs of dynamically developing economy of India. “That is why we intend to discuss the prospects for further development of our cooperation in the domain of nuclear energy during the upcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi," said Putin. The policy document “Strategic Vision of the Strengthening Russian-Indian Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of the Atomic Energy" is also being prepared to be signed. Alongside with the new energy units construction, it provides for the exchange of the results of activities in the field of science, technology and innovation," he said.

Calling nuclear energy cooperation as one of the pillars of strategic partnership between India and Russia, Putin said both the countries had concluded two inter-governmental agreements in this field in 2008 and 2010. “The Road Map for the Serial Construction of the Russian designed NPP in the Republic of India, which was signed in 2010, is currently being implemented. “The work on two energy units of the NPP Kudankulam is proceeding as scheduled.

In October 2013, the first energy unit of that NPP was connected to the Indian power grid and this June that unit reached its full capacity. The second energy unit is being prepared for commissioning," he said.

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Published: 10 Dec 2014, 06:40 PM IST
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