India and Russia are likely to ink almost 18 agreements on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Goa for the 17th India-Russia annual summit meet on Saturday. The main areas of concern will be Defence and nuclear cooperation and Putin is likely to inaugurate the third and fourth units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
Putin said that Russia remained to lead in terms of direct supplies of most advanced weapons and military equipment, along with conducting joint exercises with India “as well as producing goods for military purposes” and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s aide in Moscow also has been quoted as saying that cooperation in nuclear energy will be one of the central themes of the engagement.
“Our countries actively collaborate in the military technical field,” Putin said, as he described India as Russia’s especially privileged strategic partner.
This summit will take place on the sidelines of the Brics summit as Putin said Brics is “determined” to fight the menace. “For our five countries’ leaders this meeting (in Goa) will be a good opportunity to harmonise our positions on key issues on the international agenda. We are determined to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption,” Putin said.
“In August 2016, Prime Minister Modi and I attended the ceremony where the NPP’s first power unit was transferred to India. The second unit will be put into operation in the near future.When they reach full capacity, the two units will substantially increase India’s energy supply and strengthen its energy security ,” said the Russian president.
The Rosatom State Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India have started preparations to construct units III and IV .The work is proceeding according to agreed schedule, said Putin.
“The project is being financed by Russia. The state loan is $3.4 billion (85% of the overall cost of contracts signed with Russian organizations). We are proceeding with the localization of component production in India.We have begun considering the construction of NPPs at other sites in India. Technological cooperation on uranium enrichment is coming along,” he said
