NEW DELHI, 25 January 2007 — India and Russia signed two arms deals yesterday meant to bring bilateral military ties into a new era, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival here for a two-day summit.
At a signing ceremony, members of a bilateral military-technical commission signed a contract for joint production of RD-33 jet engines and a protocol of intent on joint development and production of multi-purpose transport planes.
“Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation has a large-scale and dynamic character, and is a real manifestation of the strategic partnership of our countries,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at the ceremony.
The two sides also discussed further cooperation on development of the BRAHMOS cruise missile, joint development and production of fifth-generation fighter planes, and future supplies and licensed production of MiG-35 jet engines, Ivanov said.
Although about 70 percent of India’s military hardware is of Soviet and Russian origin, the relationship has shifted as New Delhi has turned to other sellers and come to favor joint production to simple purchases. “Our cooperation today is not just a simple buyer-seller relationship,” Indian Minister of Defense A.K. Antony said.
The deals came on the eve of a two-day summit between Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that will culminate in tomorrow’s Republic Day parade, where the Russian leader will be the guest of honor.
The packed agenda reflects the urgency of updating the countries’ traditional ties — which Ivanov called “one of Russia’s main foreign policy priorities” — for a new era. Putin told news agency PTI that “somewhere by 2010, we can achieve the level of $10 billion worth of (trade) turnover,” up from about $3.1 billion currently.
One of the key issues on the summit agenda is energy cooperation, a priority for India, which imports about 70 percent of its fuel requirements. “There is a clear compatibility between India’s demands and Russia’s resources,” Manmohan said in an interview published yesterday in Russian daily newspaper Izvestia.
“This is the first time that a Russian leader has been invited to be the chief guest at the Republic Day function, and we are delighted that President Putin will be with us on this occasion,” Manmohan said. “In him we have a very sincere friend of our country,” he said.
Allaying apprehensions that Indo-US nuclear deal will have a negative impact on India’s relations with Russia, Manmohan said: “I have discussed this matter with President Putin several times and I am very happy to report you that he is fully on board.” Expressing India’s keenness to strengthen nuclear cooperation with Russia, Manmohan said: “Russian nuclear power technology is internationally competitive. Since we have major plans to increase the share of nuclear power in our energy mix, there are concrete opportunities for cooperation in this area. We would also like this cooperation to expand in years to come.”
Asserting that Indo-Russia political interaction has reached an “unprecedented level of intensity,” Manmohan said: “Relations between India and Russia have weathered radical changes in the international system as well as political and socio-economic changes within two countries. This deep and durable understanding between India and Russia is manifest today in our shared thinking that international peace and stability can be better maintained in a multi-polar world.”
Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora said he would meet Putin separately today to press for a greater participation for Indian oil companies in Russia’s energy market.
Deora said New Delhi was looking for a stake in the Sakhalin-3 project and Vankor — two vast oil and gas fields in eastern Russia.
India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation already owns a 20 percent stake in Russia’s Sakhalin-I field, which brings India 2.4 million tons of crude a year.