India and Russia on 11 December 2014 signed 20 agreements during the
15th India-Russia Annual Summit held in New Delhi. The agreements were signed
in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia President Vladimir
Putin, who is on the official visit to India.
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The agreements signed included eight agreements between government
entities and 12 between private enterprises and covered the fields of nuclear
energy, oil and gas, health, investment, mining, media and wind power. These
agreement include Russia’s help in building at least 12 nuclear reactors and a
plan to manufacture advanced Russian military helicopters and defence spare
parts in India - ·
During the summit, both the countries also vowed to strengthen the
special strategic partnership and unveiled Druzhba-Dosti vision statement for
the next decade. - ·
President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Vajpayee launched the annual
Summit process in 2000. The first summit Prime Minister Vajpayee visited Moscow
and held the summit.
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This is President Vladimir Putin’s eleventh Annual Summit and first
summit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Highlights of the summit
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During the summit, both the countries signed 20 agreements in the fields
such as nuclear energy, oil and gas, health, investment, mining, media and wind
power. - ·
Both the countries agreed on the construction of at least 12 new nuclear
power units within the next 20 years, including two new units at the Kudankulam
Nuclear Power Plant. Both also countries agreed to find a new site to construct
a new nuclear plant. - ·
Both the countries agreed to promote bilateral economic, trade and
investment cooperation, including the idea of exploring the use of national
currencies in settlements. - ·
Both the countries agreed to consult and coordinate in multilateral
forums such as G20, East Asia Summit (EAS), BRICS and RIC. The bilateral program on enhanced cooperation
in oil and gas sphere underlines the serious commitments of the two counties to
develop cooperation in energy area of great promise. - ·
Both the countries envisage broader collaboration between hydrocarbon
companies of the two countries in oil and gas exploration and production as
well as in LNG projects and supplies. - ·
India reassured Russia that Russia will remain primary defence partner
of India, though both the countries did not reach a concrete agreement on the
fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and a multirole transport aircraft
(MTA) projects. - ·
Russia expressed that it would look at participating in the Delhi Mumbai
Industrial Corridor project and will speed up the negotiations for a free trade
agreement between India and the Eurasian Union. - ·
Russia looks forward to India to become a full member of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO). - ·
India and Russia supports the evolution of open, balanced and inclusive
security architecture in the Asia Pacific region based on collective efforts,
considering legitimate interests of all states of the region and guided by
respect for norms and principles of international law
List of Agreements signed
International Relations
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Protocol for consultations between the External Affairs Ministry of both
the countries for the period 2015-2016: The agreement envisages close
consultation on as many as 17 issues, ranging from Asia-Pacific to West Asia to
West Europe to Latin America as also at various multilateral for a like UN,
G20, BRICS, SCO, RIC.
Nuclear Energy
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Strategic vision for strengthening cooperation in peaceful uses of
atomic energy envisaging a roadmap of bilateral cooperation in the civil
nuclear energy sector for the next two decades. It contains plans to build over
20 nuclear power units in India - ·
Provisions for the technical data and information non-disclosure in the
framework of cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy to
provide an impetus to scientific and technological cooperation in the peaceful
use of nuclear energy - ·
Supplement to the General Framework Agreement (GFA) for Units 3 and 4 of
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project between Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Limited (NPCIL) and ATOMSTROYEXPORT (ASE) to operationlise the General
Framework Agreement (GFA) and Technical Commercial Offer (TCO) signed in April
2014 - ·
Contract between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and
ATOMSTROYEXPORT (ASE) for unit 3 and 4 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant for
supply of some major equipment by ASE
Oil and Gas
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Programme of Cooperation (POC) under Framework of Inter-governmental
Agreement for Enhancement of Cooperation in Oil & Gas in 2015-16: The
agreement sets out a concrete programme for cooperation, envisaging projects
including joint exploration and production of hydrocarbons, long term LNG
supplies and joint study of a hydrocarbon pipeline system connecting Russia
with India. - ·
MoU between TATA Power and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to
explore investment opportunities in the energy sector across the Russian
Federation - ·
MoU between Oil India Limite’ and Zarubezhneft to facilitate
technological association on hydrocarbon projects in India - ·
MoU between ESSAR and ROSNEFT for long-term supply of crude oil
envisaging ten year supply and purchase by India of crude oil and feed stocks/products
Economic Sphere
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MoU on technical cooperation on accreditation: Aims at development of
accreditation systems, sharing of information, recognition of test reports, and
creation of conditions for the elimination of technical barriers in trade and
economic cooperation. - ·
MoU between ACRON of Russia and NMDC of India to implement 2 billion US
dollars potash mine project of ACRON in Russia - ·
MoU between Vneshtorgbank (VTB) of Russia and ESSAR Group envisaging
finance arrangement of 1 billion US dollar to ESSAR by VTB - ·
MoU between Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation Ltd (IDFC)
and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on a co-investment opportunity up to
1 billion US dollars - ·
MoU between FICCI and Delovaya Rossiya to broaden and strengthen economic
ties and identifying new areas of economic cooperation - ·
MoU between Electronics and Software Export promotion Council of India
(ESEPCI) and Skolkovo Foundation of Russia to enable companies in these sectors
to enter new markets by means of joint ventures, strategic alliances and in
joint research and development - ·
MoU between Gamesa Wind Turbine Pvt Ltd. of India and ROTEK of Russia to
facilitate cooperation between the two companies in wind power equipment - ·
MoU between news agencies PTI and TASS on exchange of news and the right
to use news items
Health sector
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MoU on cooperation in Health Research: Envisages programme of
cooperation in specific areas of health research such as oncology,
bioinformatics & bio imaging, neurosciences, new generation vaccine research
and research in HIV/AIDS.
Space
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MoU between EIRENE SYSTEMS and GLONASS Union to contribute to joint
development and implementation of projects like Navigation Platform and
Geographical Information System in India
Defence
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Agreement for training of Indian defence personnel in the defence
establishments of the Russia: This will facilitate better understanding between
the two defence forces.
