Russians keen on investing in 13 PLI-supported sectors
India and Russia have taken their cooperation further with the signing of 28 agreements and MoUs, including the pact to manufacture AK-203 rifles in the country, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on 6 Dec 2021, after several rounds of high-level meetings capped by a summit meeting between visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Nine of the agreements were government-to-government while the 19 others were commercial pacts in an array of sectors.
“Our agreements in various sectors will facilitate India-Russia cooperation further. Our defence cooperation is being further strengthened through co-development and co-production under the ‘Make in India’ programme,” noted Modi.
Both sides had not only cooperated with each other without any hesitation, but had also taken special care of each other’s sensitivities, he added.
Putin assured that Russia saw India as a great power and a time-tested friend.
Describing Putin’s visit as “short but substantive”, Shringla said PM Modi also discussed long-term sourcing of fertilisers and coking coal while flagging Indian interest in supply of skilled manpower and petroleum projects.
Russia has shown interest in investing under the production-linked scheme in 13 sectors, including shipbuilding and organic fertilisers.
The Indian and Russian officials have also discussed enhanced sourcing of Russian crude oil on long-term contracts, strengthening LNG imports to India and the possible utilisation of the Northern Sea Route for energy supplies.
The joint statement welcomed the signing of a new long-term defence program for 2021-31 and spoke of the need to upgrade defence cooperation, which Shringla said reflected the Russian interest in meeting the Indian requirement of co-development and production of defence systems.
The Foreign Secretary confirmed that the S-400 missile defence systems from Russia had started arriving this month and “will continue to happen”.
Other pacts included Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Russia responding to cyber attacks. fiinews.com
