Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh leaves for Moscow today on the first leg of his five-day official visit of Russia and China. A number of agreements and MoUs are expected to be signed in key areas of trade, business, science and technology and energy between India and the two countries, during the visit.

The Prime Minister's main engagement in Moscow will be his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow. A Joint Statement will be issued at the end of the talks, touching on bilateral as well as global issues.

A few agreements will also be signed in diverse areas such as science and technology, energy efficiency and standards between both the countries.

Dr. Singh will be conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
During his stay in Moscow, the Prime Minister will attend the 14th India-Russia Annual Summit.

On the margins of the Summit, he will have a meeting of the newly re-constituted CEO’s Council.

Both India and Russia are working out a techno-commercial agreement for the third and fourth reactors of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and India will also be seeking to tap Russia's vast reserves of hydrocarbons for its energy requirements.

Talking to AIR in Moscow, India's Ambassador to Russia, Ajai Malhotra described Russia as a key supporter of India's foreign policy and a rock solid partner.

He said the entire gamut of bilateral issues would be discussed during the talks as these provide an opportunity to take this privileged strategic partnership to higher levels.