An expected highlight of Dmitry Medvedev’s trip will be a $30 billion agreement for the design and development of a stealth fighter jet to be inducted into the Indian air force, Russian ambassador Alexander Kadakin told reporters.
The aircraft would be the equivalent of the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor.
“There is robust defense cooperation between the two countries,” said Vishnu Prakash, a foreign ministry spokesman. “It is not a mere buyer-seller relationship, but the two sides are looking at joint research and development and joint production.” During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union shared a deep relationship, while the United States tilted toward India’s neighbor Pakistan.
In the post Cold War period, India has moved closer to the United States, but its strategic partnership with Russia has endured.
“We can rightfully call it a privileged partnership,” Medvedev said in an interview with the Times of India newspaper published Monday.
India has emerged as one of the largest buyers of fighter jets, tanks, submarines and other defense equipment in recent years.
India and Russia are also expected to sign a general framework agreement for Russia to build two more nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu in southern India, in addition to the two it is already building there.
India and Russia are also likely to discuss liberalizing visa regimes as part of plans to double annual trade from the current $10 billion in the next five years. Indian business leaders have long complained about the difficulty of getting multiple entry visas to Russia.
Medvedev, who will be accompanied by several key ministers and a large business delegation, will meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday before heading to Mumbai, India’s financial hub.
