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Nuclear business to top Medvedev agenda

Sandeep Dikshit

Both sides are also attempting to stitch some defence deals

— PHOTO: AP /RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived here on Thursday with a pact on furthering nuclear cooperation capping the agenda.

Both sides have lined up a large number of agreements but most of them are aimed at covering up in case substantive agreements in defence fail to materialise.

“Both sides are still negotiating on several issues for quite some time but there has been no consensus. The nuclear agreement is the only highlight for now. But the atmosphere is better than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Moscow visit in February,” said informed sources.

What is being billed as a three-day visit is actually a one-day working visit. Mr. Medvedev arrived in the evening and all his official engagements take place on Friday. He will leave for Moscow on Saturday morning.

Russia is offering a new power plant AES-2006, which incorporates a third generation VVER-1200 reactor of 1170 MW. This is an advanced version of the VVER-1000 being installed a Koodankulam. The new reactor will operate at higher thermal power of 3200 MWt with a longer life span of 50 years. The sources said it can withstand an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale and a direct hit from a fighter aircraft. All reactors will be supplied with lifetime guarantee of fuel. Russia has claimed substantial current experience in such projects. Its ongoing projects include building of five reactors at home and seven abroad.

Russia is building the first and second power units for the Koodankulam nuclear power plant. The proposed agreement scheduled to be signed during Mr. Medvedev’s visit envisages the construction of at least four more nuclear power plants.

Thus Russia will become the first country with which cooperation in concrete terms has materialised after India was accepted in the international civil nuclear community.

Apart from this, both sides are attempting to stitch some defence deals with representatives of Tactical Rocket Systems engaged with Defence Ministry officials. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited officials are also discussing the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding with Sukhoi on developing and producing a slightly larger short distance civilian aircraft than the regional jet developed by the Russian company. Apart from Dr. Singh and Mr. Medvedev issuing a joint declaration after their summit meeting on Friday, a host of agreements and statements of intent have been lined up. These include a political declaration, a list of priorities for enhancing the strategic partnership next year and four memoranda of understanding between Roscosmos and Indian Space Research Organisation, stock market regulators, customs training institutes and agencies for probing financial transactions, respectively. They will also sign an agreement on tourism for 2009-10.

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