Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be visiting Russia and China from October 20 to hold talks and is likely to ink pacts on key areas of trade, security, energy and bilateral issues.
The Prime Minister will be in Russia from October 20 to 22 to hold talks on nuclear cooperation, trade and defence. The meeting between Vladimir Putin, President of Russia and Singh will see discussions about India's nuclear liability law and also on the safety of Russian investments in telecom sector, reported The Outlook.
During the recently concluded 19th meeting of the Russian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in Moscow, the two nations indicated that they have made progress to clear the nuclear liability issue, which will aid in drawing a contract for supply of Russian reactors for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
The two nations are also likely to hold talks on the issues related to Russia's investment in telecom sector. The Russian giant Sistema had recently expressed unhappiness over telecom regulator TRAI's recommendations on spectrum auction, saying that it created ambiguity and policy uncertainty that would adversely impact the investment plans.
Meanwhile, India and China are likely to ink a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, which is aimed at enhancing coordination between the armies of the two nations, reported Firstpost India.
India and China share a lukewarm relationship. The two nations fought a war in 1962 over issues of Line of Control, violent skirmishes on the border following Tibet uprising and providing asylum to Tibetan religious leader Dalai Lama. There has also been an increase in incidents of conflict on the Sino-Indian border in recent years.
Singh who will be visiting China for the first time after the change in leadership will meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss on key bilateral and regional issues, including trans-border Rivers.
He also hopes to push for increase in China's imports as there is a huge trade deficit with the nation. India recorded a trade deficit of $40.78 billion with China, which has been on the rise every year. India has a proposal for setting up Chinese business parks in five states -Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which will work like Special Economic Zones, according to the site.
