Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Moscow, Russia, from October 20-22 to attend the 14th India-Russia Annual Summit. During his visit, he is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin among other senior officials.
In the backdrop of advancing the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, the two sides are expected to deliberate on a number of issues including nuclear cooperation, trade, and defence – areas in which key pacts are expected to be signed. Both sides are also expected to discuss issues concerning Russian investment in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC); the Indian telecom sector, and joint ventures in the pharmaceutical and fertiliser sectors. Negotiations for supply of nuclear material for India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and discussions on the security situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan are also expected to be on the agenda for the meeting.
India and Russia share strong bilateral, historic and trade ties. In 2012, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $11.04 billion. Both sides have institutionalised bilateral cooperation in the form of annual summit meetings between the two Heads of State and the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).