India and Russia Sign Agreements on Defense, Energy
December 14, 2014
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi on Thursday for a scheduled one-day annual summit. The trend of annual bilateral leaders summits between Russia and India goes back to 2000. Each meeting alternates between New Delhi and Moscow. The two leaders oversaw the signing of a “vision” document that described a road map for India-Russia civil nuclear cooperation. For the moment, Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation, is committed to supplying India with 12 nuclear reactors over the next two decades. India and Russia are already cooperating on the 1,000-megawatt Kudankulam nuclear power station, though the project has encountered delays and setbacks. Meanwhile, Rosneft, a major Russian state-owned oil company, signed a 10-year crude supply deal with India’s Essar Oil. On defense, the two leaders stated their commitment to move ahead with plans for a jointly developed fifth-generation fighter.