MOSCOW: Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, arriving here on October 30 to intensify energy cooperation, will hold talks with Russia's Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and take part in an international conference, "Moscow Energy Dialogue."

It is Mr. Deora's first visit to Russia after he took charge in January.

He discussed energy cooperation earlier this year with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Almaty, with Mr. Khristenko in Doha in April and with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov in New Delhi in June.

Mr. Deora's visit may help dispel the impression here that India is losing interest in the Russian market.

His predecessor Mani Shankar Aiyar had made three visits to Russia within a year.

Invitation

After India-Russia energy talks here in February 2005, the Russian side invited India to take part "in geological prospecting, development and production of hydrocarbons in the Timan-Pechora oil fields, in East Siberia and the Far East, in West Siberia, as well in the shelf of the Barents and Okhotsk Seas."

In December 2005 Mr. Putin told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here that India was a "long-term partner" in the energy sector and Russia was looking to expand the scope of bilateral relationship beyond India's participation in the Sakhalin-1 project.

"Indians are losing out to the Chinese," a Russian energy official told The Hindu recently.

"The Chinese have a natural advantage of having a long common border with Russia, but they are also far more active here than the Indians."

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