India and Russia on Monday inked five agreements to collaborate in the areas of energy, education, science and technology and prisoner exchange policy.
According to a joint statement by the leaders of both nations, these agreements enhanced the bilateral ties between the two countries.
Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and President of Russia Vladimir Putin held closed door talks for more than four hours in the Grand Kremlin Palace, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra and senior officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Soon after the meeting, both leaders issued the statement, expressing satisfaction over bilateral talks and agreements.
“We resolved to promote investments and facilitate closer cooperation in a number of areas with great potential, such as oil and gas, energy, information technology, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilisers, and mining,” said Manmohan Singh in the statement.
MoUs
• Facilitate the process of social rehabilitation of persons sentenced in the other country by providing them the opportunity to serve out their remaining sentences (under certain conditions) in their country.
• Cooperation in the field of energy saving and efficiency through joint implementation of activities and projects by organisations/companies in smart grids, energy audits, energy efficient building designs, industrially efficient technologies, etc.
• Facilitate closer technical cooperation in the field of standardisation (trade and commerce) through exchange of information, practices and expertise
• Cooperation in innovation and science and tchnology through implementation of joint programs and exchanges involving educational, research and development and industrial institutions mainly in the areas of sunrise’ sectors such as information technology, nano-technology, environmental sciences and alternate energy
• Broaden cooperation in biotechnology and encourage industrial research and development and related investment flows through joint programmes
India and Russia also agreed to continue cooperation in the areas of space exploration, military and technical cooperation, combating terrorism and cyber security. Russia also agreed to resolve issues related to operationalising of Kudankulum nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
Both countries also agreed to continue the strong strategic relation in the defence sector. “Our defence cooperation continues to be strong, and we expect that Russia will remain a key defence partner for India as we move into a stage of joint design, development, and production of key defence platforms,” the Prime Minister stessed.
The two nations will strive to enhance cooperation in the fields of rocket, missile and naval technologies and weapon systems, according to the news release issued at the end of the 14th Indo-Russian summit.
