Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday wound up a three-day visit to Russia, during which the two sides signed a path-breaking civil nuclear agreement and three defence pacts.Dr Singh, who arrived in Moscow on Sunday, was given a warm send off and he is now way back to home.The Prime Minister had on Monday met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his counterpart Vladimir Putin and discussed a wide range of issues, including terrorism.The two sides signed a path-breaking civil nuclear agreement on Monday that will guarantee uninterrupted uranium fuel supplies for Indian atomic reactors and transfer of technology.The deal is seen as going much forward for the benefit of India than the historic 123 atomic agreement with the US which does not guarantee fuel supplies without any break. Dr Singh had described the Inter-Governmental framework agreement for civil nuclear cooperation as a major step forward and said India is very satisfied at the development of bilateral atomic cooperation.Earlier, Dr Singh expressed confidence that the agreement with Russia on a 10-year military and technical cooperation from 2011 would help enhance the operational capability of its defence forces in the next decade.The agreement which was among the three defence pacts signed provides for acquisition, licensed production, upgrades and modernisation of defence equipment as well as the development of new and advanced weapon systems.
News On AIR | December 8, 2009 2:52 PM
PM wraps up three day visit to Russia