Moscow:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today in Moscow as part of the 12th annual Indo-Russian summit. The PM arrived in the Russian capital yesterday on a three-day visit during which he aims to work on expanding bilateral cooperation and consolidate coordination on regional and global issues between the two, traditional allies.
The PM had, prior to his departure for Moscow, emphasised on the long-standing and historic ties between the two nations and expressed hope of taking the relationship to a new level. "Both countries recognise the significant mutual benefit we derive from working together...Our bilateral relations with Russia are based on mutual trust, friendship and shared interests", the PM had said in a statement.
Dr Singh was received by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister A M Vadakin on his arrival at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. He will be meeting his Russian counterpart Putin in the evening after a high-level delegation meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.
Observing that Prime Minister Putin has played a key role in the development of "our Strategic Partnership, and has been the architect of our contemporary relationship," Dr Singh, in his statement, said, "I will review with him the progress we have made in our relations since his visit to India in March 2010".
New Delhi is hoping to ramp up its strategic relations with Moscow and also sign agreements in the fields of defence, health and science and technology during the summit. "Our relations encompass diverse sectors, including nuclear energy, defence, space, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment and people-to-people exchanges," Dr Singh said.
The bilateral summit has already received a major boost after official sources in New Delhi confirmed yesterday that a Nerpa-class nuclear submarine leased for 10 years from Russia would be joining the Indian Navy in early 2012. The development came just hours after the PM reached Moscow for the bilateral summit.
(Read)Bilateral trade is expected to figure high in the agenda of the summit. It has already witnessed a 15 per cent growth from $7.46 billion in 2009 to $8.535 billion in 2010. The two countries, in 2009, decided to target $20 billion worth of bilateral trade by 2015 with a focus on energy, pharmaceuticals, IT, steel, hydrocarbons, aerospace and agriculture.
The PM also that he would focus focus on increased consultations with Russia in international forums during the bilateral summit.
"I will discuss with Medvedev how to further enhance our consultations in international forums like the United Nations Security Council, G20, BRICS as well as the East Asia Summit which Russia has recently joined. I am convinced that the India-Russia consultation on global issues is more necessary today than ever before", Dr Singh said.
He said he would also hold "in-depth exchange of views with the Russian leadership on the crisis facing the global economy and the political developments in our extended neighbourhood".
This, the PM said, included the situation in the "Gulf and Afghanistan and the impact of all this on peace and stability in the world."
"The perspectives of our countries on these developments are marked by a high degree of convergence."
(With agency inputs)