Russian President Putin visits India to boost economic relations.

Indian media outlets on December 10th published an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his visit to India and participation in the 15th annual summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11th.

In an interview with PTI news agency and The Hindustan Times, Russian President Putin emphasized the priority strategic partnership with India and stated that, in addition to military and technological cooperation, the construction of new nuclear power plants was a high priority on his agenda in New Delhi during his visit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Source: Corbis)

President Putin clarified that, in addition to constructing new units for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (NPP) project in Tamil Nadu, Russia is awaiting a decision from the Indian government to prepare a site for a new nuclear power plant based on a Russian design. A general framework agreement was signed in Mumbai in April 2014, and the two sides will discuss this matter at their meeting on December 11th.

According to The Hindustan Times, both sides also focused on expanding trade and economic relations and promoting bilateral investment. Russian President Putin noted the enormous potential for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, despite a decline in bilateral trade, which only reached $10 billion in 2013. From 2000 to 2014, India invested more than $8 billion in Russia, and Russia invested $3.6 billion in India. Russia hopes that Indian companies will invest in Russian "industrial parks" in the coming years. Russian companies are also interested in the automotive, mining, defense, railway, agriculture, food processing industries, and the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.

Against the backdrop of India's efforts to reach a free trade agreement with the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, Russian President Putin's visit also provided an opportunity for both sides to discuss and agree on the details and implementation of the agreement.

With the desire to maintain its role as a reliable energy supplier to Asia, Russian President Putin specifically addressed the issue of Russia-India energy cooperation. Russia will begin exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India in early 2017 under the 2012 agreement, and also hopes that India's ONGC Videsh oil and gas company will participate in oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.

Regarding defense cooperation, Russian President Putin emphasized the particular importance of strengthening military and technological cooperation – one of the key components of the Russia-India Strategic Partnership. The two sides will discuss in detail current projects, not only concerning the export of ready-made equipment, but also close cooperation in technology and manufacturing industries. President Putin stated that “the two sides are gradually shifting from a producer-consumer model to a model of joint development and production of modern weapon systems.”

During this visit to India, he aims to pursue concrete measures to strengthen the priority strategic partnership between the two countries, including plans to promote the introduction of Russian Sukhoi Superjet-100 and MS-21 passenger aircraft to the Indian market. In addition, the two sides will cooperate in the development of helicopters and the construction of "smart cities" using Russian technology.

According to VNA