Giving a fillip to their
ties, India and Russia on Friday signed 19 pacts, including three in civil nuclear field and one for
purchase of 29 MiG-29 fighters besides inking the revised agreement on Gorshkov
aircraft carrier, a deal that was stuck for three years over price.
Under the agreements in civil nuclear
field, Russia will build 12 atomic plants -- six in Kudankulam and six in Haripur
in West Bengal.
The agreements were signed during the
day-long visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who held comprehensive talks
with his counterpart Manmohan Singh with an aim of exploring opportunities for
further boosting the relations.
They also discussed regional issues,
including Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the context of terrorism and agreed to intensify their
consultations on Afghanistan the challenges posed by terrorism and extremism in
the region.
The pacts in civil nuclear field are
Agreement on Cooperation in the use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes and
Agreement on Road Map for the Serial Construction of Russian Designed Nuclear
Power Plants.
A MoU was also signed on Nuclear Power
between NPCIL and Atomstroy Export for construction of Third and Fourth atomic
plant in Kudankulum in Tamil Nadu.
The revised agreement on Gorshkov
aircraft carrier deal was also signed during the visit. The deal had initially
been signed in 2004 at the cost of USD 1.5 billion, along with 16 MiG-29Ks.
However, the Russians later demanded USD 2.9 billion, citing escalation of
costs.
After protracted negotiations, the two sides
settled at USD 2.34 billion.