INDIA-RUSSIA RELATIONSHIP
- india ties with the russian federation are time-tested & based on continuity , trust & mutual understanding.
- there is national consensus in both the countries on the need to preserve & strengthen the fundamentals of india-russia relations & furthur consolidate the strategic partnership.
- declaration of strategic partnership between these 2 nations has signed between former president vladamir putin & former PM shri atal behari vajpayee in oct 2000.
Military cooperations :
- defence relaiton between india-russia have historical perspective.
- the cooperation today is not resticted to a buyer-seller relationships but include joint research & development, training & service to service contacts.
- unde rmilitary cooperation india & russia conducted joint naval exercise 'indra 2007' in the sea of japan.
- in 2007 india -russia signed an agreement for joint development & production of 5th generation fighter aircraft.
- the purchase of 'admiral gorshkov' aircraft carrier was finalized during the visit of the russian defence minister to india in jan 2004.
- they also have several major joint military programme including brahmos cruis misiile programme , ins vikramaditya aircraft carrier programme & sukoi su-30 mki programme.
trade & economic relations :
- bilateral trade turnover is below expectation.
- a number of steps have been taken to boost the trade relations from both the sides.
- joint business council has been revived.
- both countries have signed an agreement on conclusion of bilateral mrk access negotiations in the context of russia's accession to hte WTO.
- in 2006, joint study group was set up to examine ways to increase trade & to study feasibility of comprehensive economic cooperation agreement.
cooperation in the energy sector :
- energy sectore is an important area in indo-russian bilateral relations.
- ONGC-videsh ltd has acquired 20% stake in the sakhalin-india oil & gas project in russia & has invested about US$ 2.8 billion in the project, which is one of the investment by india abroad.
- kudankulam nuclear power project with 1 unit of combined capacity of 2000 MW is a good example of indo-russian nuclear cooperation.
Space cooperation :
- this is another key area of cooperation between these 2 nations.
- in 2004, 2 space - related bilateral agreement were signed.
- they were agreement on cooperation in the outer space for peaceful purpose & agreement on cooperation in the russian space satellite navigation system 'GLONASS'.
- an agreement on joint moon exploration was also signes in nov 2007.
a move on human spaceflight programme was signed on dec 5 2008 during visit of president medvedev to india.
cooperation in science & technology :
- the ongoing cooperation in the field of s & t under the integrated long term programme of cooperation is the largest cooperation programmw in this sphere for both india-russia.
- development of SARAS DUET AIRCRAFT, semiconductor products, super computers, poly-vaccine, laser , seismology, high-purity materials, software & IT & ayurveda have been identified as priority areas of cooperation.
north-south transport corridor :
agreement has been ratified by all the 3 original signatory states viz, india, iran & russia , came into force on may 16 2002.
cooperation in the sphere of culture :
- indo-russia relations in the field of culture are historical.
- the inter-governmental cultural exchange programme between 2 nations.
- to boost up the cultural ties "year of russia in india" was organised in 2008.
- days of russian culture were held in india in nov 2003, in delhi, kolkata, mumbai.
- days of indian culture in russia were organised from sept 252005-oct 25 2005 in russia.
cooperation between regions of the 2 countries :
- cooperation between regions of the 2 countries areas are :
* delhi & moscow
* mumbai & st.petersburg
* karnataka & samara region
* gujarat & astrakhan region
* andhra pradesh & tatarstan.
fight against terrorism :
- on international terrorism, both sides agree that there is no justification for terrorism, & this must be fought against without compromise & whenever it exists.
- russia has supported the indian draft at the UN on comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
- india-russia joint working group on combating international terrorism is the institutional arrangement for cooperaiton in tackling global terrorism