By IANS
New Delhi : India and Russia Tuesday signed two pacts to bolster economic and cultural ties between them and also discussed several crucial issues, including civil nuclear cooperation.
Russian Prime Minister Victor A. Zubkov, who arrived here Tuesday morning on a two-day official visit, held talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on an entire range of bilateral, regional and global issues.
The two leaders also discussed prospects of expanding civilian nuclear cooperation between the two countries with the Russian prime minister showing an appreciation of the Indian decision not to sign a bilateral civil nuclear agreement with any other country till a change in guidelines by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Manmohan Singh told his Russian counterpart about the ongoing efforts by India to finalise a safeguards pact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – that will pave the way for operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
A team of Indian officials is in Vienna for another round of talks to finalise an India-specific safeguards pact with the IAEA that is expected to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies for the civilian reactors India proposes to place under safeguards.
A proposed bilateral nuclear pact between India and Russia could not be signed during Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow in November last year as India made it clear that it will not enter into bilateral deals without a rule change by the NSG.
The Russian side indicated that Moscow was ready to sign a bilateral agreement after India clinches the IAEA pact and gets a green signal from the NSG.
The two sides also discussed the controversial escalation in the price by Russia of the retrofitted aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. The Russian side defended the escalation in the costs, saying the economics of refitting the aircraft carrier have changed radically since the two sides signed an agreement over three years ago.
A memorandum on the development of cooperation in law enforcement matters between the Central Board of Excise and Customs, department of revenue, ministry of finance of India and the Russian Federal Customs Service was signed after talks between the two leaders.
The pact aims at greater cooperation on fighting drug smuggling, psychotropic substances and their precursors, dual use goods, contraband and customs offences in commercial trade by constituting a Joint Working Group, information exchange and regular meetings of customs officials to counter violations.
Another MoU on cooperation in the field of archives was inked by heads of the National Archives of India and Russia’s Federal Archival Agency. The pact envisages cooperation between the two archival agencies through exchange of archival specialists; sharing of information, including documents on Russian and Indian history; automating archival records; joint publication of documents and exhibitions.
During the delegation-level talks, India officials also brought up issues like the ban on import of agricultural products by Russia after the khapra beetle, a pest, was allegedly found in a consignment of sesame seeds from India.
India and Russia also sought to expand their business ties during the second meeting of the trade and investment forum, which opened Tuesday afternoon.
The forum is being attended by 125-odd Russian business officials and tycoons like Vladimir Yevtushenko, head of the Sistema Group and Vladimir Rashevsky, general director of Siberian Ural Energy Co (SUEK Group) and Alexander Shokhin, president of Russia’s Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen,
The two sides are confident of taking their bilateral trade from $4 billion to $10 billion by 2010.
Zubkov will formally inaugurate the Year of Russia in India later in the evening with a gala concert set against the magnificent ruins of the 16th century Purana Qila fort. Zubkov has a date with the Taj Mahal in Agra before he heads back to Moscow Wednesday.