October 18, 2013
NEW DELHI: India and Russia are close to sealing the deal on Kudankulam 3 and 4 nuclear power plants. Negotiators on both sides are hopeful the agreement may be signed during the PM's visit to Moscow, beginning October 20.
PM Manmohan Singh will visit Russia on October 20.
October 18, 2013
NEW DELHI: India and Russia are close to sealing the deal on Kudankulam 3 and 4 nuclear power plants. Negotiators on both sides are hopeful the agreement may be signed during the PM's visit to Moscow, beginning October 20.
PM Manmohan Singh will visit Russia on October 20.
Russia has been opposed to signing any nuclear contract under the Indian nuclear liability law as it stands, instead insisting that contracts should be governed by the inter-governmental agreement. The Indian government has interpreted the Indian law in a way so as to make it easier for private sector nuclear suppliers — both domestic and foreign — to invest in nuclear plants. In addition, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has asked the state-owned General Insurance Corporation (GIC) to work out insurance packages for Indian and foreign suppliers of nuclear power plants. This would help them cover the risk associated with being a supplier under the liability law.
India will also agree to a new Russian proposal to create an Asia-Pacific security architecture, involving the members of the East Asia Summit — a first meeting at the senior officials' level is scheduled to be held by end-November.
To revive a flagging economic relationship, India is hoping to persuade Russia to allow greater cooperation in new projects — particularly in Sakhalin — for oil and gas. The Brahmos agreement is also likely to be extended, and Indian officials contend that the defence cooperation relationship — on fifth generation fighter and multi-role transport aircraft — are on track. Defence and strategic issues now form the core of the India-Russia relationship.
Sources said, the conversation on Afghanistan between Singh and Putin would be of significance. Moscow remains concerned about the fate of Afghanistan and the region after 2014. It was Russia that got Indian and Chinese officials together to discuss the future of the troubled country earlier this year. Russia and India have a history of cooperation on Afghanistan through the years when Taliban ran the show there in the 1990s. Both countries are returning to working together again, but the pattern and shape will be very different this time.
Russia's dependence on China is evident because Moscow has been highlighting the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where China holds the prime position and India is merely an observer. New Delhi will rely much more on what it can achieve bilaterally with Russia.
Courtesy: TOI
