India set for Putin boost, to sign nuclear, Gorshkov pacts
By IANSThursday, March 11, 2010
NEW DELHI - India and Russia will Friday tighten their strategic and economic ties by signing a slew of agreements, including an umbrella civil nuclear pact and another accord fixing the cost of the refurbished aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov at $2.35 billion.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Friday evening holds talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who touches down in India close to midnight Thursday for a brief visit lasting less than 24 hours.
Putin will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising senior ministers and senior officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin, Minister for Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina and Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko.
The two sides are expected to sign over a dozen pacts, including an umbrella inter-governmental civil nuclear agreement, a clutch of defence deals and a visa pact after the talks, sources said.
The nuclear pact was initialled during Manmohan Singh’s trip to Moscow in December last year.
“We are aiming to take forward our bilateral cooperation in strategic sectors like hydrocarbons, civil nuclear energy, space and defence,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said, adding energizing of trade and investment ties will be also high on the agenda.
Nearly two weeks after the deadly terror attack in Kabul that killed 7 Indians, India and Russia will also discuss the volatile situation in Afghanistan and the implications of a reconciliation deal with the Taliban for regional stability.
Setting a positive tone for Friday’s talks, India’s cabinet committee on security (CCS) cleared the $2.35 billion fresh price for the Admiral Gorshkov. The long-delayed renegotiated pact for the carrier, renamed INS Vikramaditya, will be among the defence deals worth $4 billion that are expected to be finalised during Putin’s visit.
The warship, originally purchased for $1.5 billion, is currently undergoing a refit at Russia’s Sevmash shipyard. Of this, $974 million was meant for the refit and the balance for a squadron of MiG-29K combat jets that will be deployed on the vessel.
Citing additional costs for the refit, Moscow had scaled up the price to $2.9 billion. New Delhi wanted the price to be scaled back to $2.1 billion. Finally, the two sides have settled for $2.35 billion after months of intense negotiations.
A slew of defence contracts like the $1.2 billion deal for 29 MiG-29K maritime fighters and the joint development of the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) are also likely to be finalised during Putin’s visit.
Pacts on setting up joint pharmaceutical ventures and visa simplification are also expected to be signed during the visit, key steps that can take scale up business ties that have not matched the level of strategic partnership the two countries have enjoyed since the Soviet era, sources said.
Under the visa agreement, Indian businessmen wishing to visit Russia will require a certificate from an industry body like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) or Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) confirming their credentials.
India and Russia are scale up their $7.5 billion bilateral trade to $20 billion by 2015.
