President of the Russia Mr. Vladimir V. Putin visited India recently. Prime Minister Modi Mr. Putin attended the 19th edition of the Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi on October 4-5, 2018.
India-Russia cooperation is based on the solid foundations of the 1971 Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic of India and the USSR, 1993 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic of India and the Russian Federation, 2000 Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of India and the Russian Federation and 2010 Joint Statement elevating the Partnership to a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
India and Russia highly evaluated the contemporary relevance and significance of the informal summit in Sochi on May 21, 2018 which was a unique meeting in international diplomacy. The Sochi Summit manifested the role of interaction and cooperation between India and Russia in building a multi-polar world order.
The Sides reaffirmed their commitment to the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia.
Subsequent to the successful implementation of the Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations for the period 2017-18, the Sides agreed to extend the period of Consultations for five more years (2019-2023) and signed a Protocol to this effect. Russia welcomed the appointment of Honorary Consuls General of India in Ekaterinburg and Astrakhan, which would further facilitate closer interaction amongst people and regions of both Sides.
India complimented Russia for successful organization of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The Sides recognized the immense contribution made by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, to the promotion of India-Russia relations over several decades. Prime Minister Modi underlined that India would contribute to the success of the 200 year celebrations of the foundation of the Institute.
The Sides reviewed the progress on the achievement of the goal to increase two-way investment to USD 30 billion by the year 2025 and noted with satisfaction that both countries were on the way to achieving this target.
The Sides welcomed the holding of the India-Russia Business Summit on the margins of the 19th Annual Summit on October 4-5, 2018 in New-Delhi with the participation of large business delegations from both sides.
They welcomed the signing of the MoU between National Small Industries Corporation of India and the Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation.
The Russian Side offered its expertise in tax collection based on satellite navigation technologies for the realization of joint projects in India including in the framework of above mentioned industrial corridors.
The Sides welcomed the proposed trilateral meeting between the Republic of India, the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the sidelines of “Transport Week – 2018” in Moscow, on the issue of Indian goods transportation through the territory of Iran to Russia.
The Indian Side informed the Russian Side of its accession to the Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets. The Sides agreed to make efforts to convene the INSTC Ministerial and Coordination meeting on priority.
The Sides supported the early launch of the Green Corridor project aimed at the simplification of customs operations in respect of goods being transported between India and Russia.
The Sides welcomed further efforts aimed at signing of agreements between Assam and Sakhalin, Haryana and Bashkortostan, Goa and Kaliningrad, Odisha and Irkutsk, Visakhapatnam and Vladivostok.
The Sides agreed to encourage participation by regional delegations in major events like Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Eastern Economic Forum and Partnership/Investment Summits and also welcomed the intention to organize and hold the India-Russia interregional forum.
The Sides welcomed the signing of the Joint Declaration – “India-Russia Economic Cooperation: The Way Forward” in March 2018 in New Delhi. They highly appreciated the decision to hold the first ever India-Russia Start-Up Summit in December 2018 by the Confederation of Indian Industries and Skolkovo Foundation.
The Sides noted the expansion of linkages between higher education institutions of two countries that became possible thanks to the activities of the India-Russia Network of Universities, which has already met thrice since its establishment in 2015, and whose total membership has reached 42.
The Sides expressed their support to companies from both sides for development of cooperation and exploring opportunities for joint development of oil fields in the Russian territory, including in the Arctic shelf of Russia and joint development of projects on the shelf of the Pechora and Okhotsk Seas.
The Sides noted the progress achieved in the construction of the remainder of the six power units at Kudankulam NPP as well as the efforts being made in the components manufacturing for localization.
The Sides highlighted the progress achieved in fulfillment of the agreements envisaged in the Memorandum of Understanding on trilateral cooperation in implementation of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project in Bangladesh.
The sides expressed satisfaction over signing of the Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field Identified Jointly.
They welcomed the forthcoming meeting of the Indian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical cooperation to be held in December 2018.
Both Sides commended the successful completion of the first ever Tri-Services Exercise INDRA 2017 and committed to continue their Joint Military Exercises – INDRA Navy, INDRA Army and Avia INDRA – in 2018.
The Sides welcomed the conclusion of the contract for the supply of the S-400 Long Range Surface to Air Missile System to India.
The Sides positively evaluated the meeting of the High-Level Committee on Cooperation in High Technologies set up in November 2017 that identified concrete projects in areas of mutual interest for joint research and development.
The Sides reaffirmed the commitment of India and Russia for a political resolution of the conflict in Syria, through an inclusive Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political process which safeguards the state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria in pursuance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).
They reaffirmed that the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS), would avert a grave danger for international peace and security.
Russia welcomed the participation of India in the counter-terror military exercise “Peace Mission – 2018”.
Following Agreements/MOUs were signed during the visit:
- Protocol for Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MEA for the period 2019-2023
- MOU between the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)
- MOU between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Federal Space Agency of Russia ‘ROSCOSMOS’ on Joint Activities in the field of Human Spaceflight Programme
- Memorandum of Cooperation between the Indian and Russian Railways
- Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field
- MOU between the Russian Ministry of Transport and Indian Railways in the Development Cooperation in Transport Education
- MOU between the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), of India and the Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation (RSMB), on Cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- Cooperation Agreement in the Fertilizers Sector between the Russian Direct Investment Fund” (“RDIF”); PJSC Phosagro (PhosAgro) and Indian Potash Limited (IPL)
