NEW DELHI, 4 December 2005 — India and Russia are expected to sign four agreements during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s four-day visit beginning today. Manmohan leaves for Moscow for the India-Russia Summit amid a fresh opposition offensive against his 18-month-old government and the Congress party in the Iraqi oil-for-food program.
The agreements, including one on intellectual property rights for defense hardware and another on joint development of a satellite-based navigation system, will be signed during Manmohan’s official visit.
The prime minister is also scheduled to hold summit-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Manmohan earlier met Putin in May when he visited Moscow for Russia’s celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II.
While Manmohan and Putin will deliberate on the current international situation also, issues related to defense, space and energy security would be high on agenda at the summit. On this, the Indian Ambassador to Moscow Kanwal Sibal said: “This is a vital component of our overall strategic relationship and both sides have interest in strengthening this component.”
Even as the prime minister will be away, the Congress-led treasury benches will face turmoil in the Indian Parliament, with the opposition determined to put the government on the mat over the new charges against disgraced minister K. Natwar Singh.
The latest ammunition has been provided by India’s envoy to Croatia Aneil Matherani, who in an interview he has now sought to deny impugned that Natwar had misused the Congress’ name to get oil vouchers as part of the UN program from the Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Incidentally, it was Natwar who was the foreign minister until last month, who had done the spadework for Manmohan’s visit, which is expected to focus on cooperation in the areas of energy and defense.
It was during this visit by Natwar to Moscow — where he met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Oct 28 — that UN official Paul Volcker’s report surfaced — and claimed his External Affairs Ministry portfolio.
According to officials, the Indian side is expected to evince interest in bidding for more exploration blocks in Sakhalin and Siberia. The state-run ONGC-Videsh has a 20 percent stake in Sakhalin-I oil gas project in Russia for $2.7 billion.
The pact on intellectual property — which will last till 2010 — will help the two countries jointly develop advanced defense equipment like the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. By virtue of the intellectual property rights pact, the two countries will have to get each other’s permission if the jointly developed defense equipment is sold to or knowhow shared with other countries, officials explained.
While arms purchase agreements have been ruled out during the prime minister’s visit, talks could be held for acquiring medium-range transport aircraft and Tu-22 bombers, as also for developing a fifth generation fighter jet.
The two leaders are also expected to explore ways to enhance two-way trade that has stagnated at around $1.8 billion.
