Indian PM heads to Russia to sign defence, energy deals
India`s premier is expected to sign deals with Russia concerning trade, nuclear energy and defence during his trip to Moscow next week, officials said.
During his two-day visit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials from the premier`s office said. Singh heads to Moscow on Sunday.
The leaders were likely to ink deals to build four more Russian nuclear reactors in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and to jointly produce a fifth-generation fighter jet.
Under an existing deal, Russia has agreed to install two reactors in Tamil Nadu with a capacity to produce 1,000 megawatts of atomic energy a day.
Earlier Thursday, Indian defence minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, who is attending a high-level meeting in Moscow, confirmed the jet deal.
He said the jet project, along with other initiatives, demonstrated "the strategic nature of Russo-Indian cooperation."
Russia accounts for 70 percent of Indian military hardware, but late deliveries, especially of tanks, and commercial disagreements have forced New Delhi to turn to Western arms firms.
Current two-way annual trade between the two countries is about 112 billion dollars.
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