India, Russia sign 16 MoUs to deepen ties during Putin visit

NEW DELHI, Dec 5 (KUNA) -- India and Russia signed 16 MoUs and agreements on Friday during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi for the India-Russia Annual Summit.
A statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs said the MoUs agreements aim to deepen cooperation in areas including migration and mobility, health and medical sciences, food safety, maritime cooperation, shipping in polar waters, fertilizers and industrial collaboration, customs procedures and trade facilitation, and other sectors of economic engagement.
A joint statement issued after the summit said that Modi and Putin reaffirmed their support for further strengthening of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia.
They emphasized the special nature of relationship based on mutual trust, respect for each other's core national interests and strategic convergence. "As major powers with shared responsibilities, this important relationship continues to be an anchor of global peace and stability that should be ensured upon the basis of equal and indivisible security," the statement said.
Modi and Putin positively assessed the India-Russia relations in all concerned fields, as both leaders underlined that the ties have remained resilient in the backdrop of the prevailing complex, challenging and uncertain geopolitical situation.
They welcomed the opening of two Consulates General of India in Yekaterinburg and Kazan, which is expected to strengthen inter-regional cooperation, expand trade and economic relations and promote people-to-people contacts.
Modi and Putin reaffirmed their shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including the increase of India's exports to Russia, strengthening industrial cooperation, forging new technological and investment partnerships.
They welcomed the adoption of the Programme for the Development of Strategic Areas of India-Russia Economic Cooperation till 2030, and noted ongoing work toward a Free Trade Agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union.
The leaders underscored the importance of an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core.
Both sides emphasized taking important measures to achieve bilateral trade target of USD 100 bln by 2030 including addressing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, removing bottlenecks in logistics, promoting connectivity, ensuring smooth payment mechanisms.
"Russia and India have agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral settlements through use of the national currencies in order to ensure the uninterrupted maintenance of bilateral trade," the statement said.
Modi and Putin commended wide-ranging cooperation in the energy sector, describing it as a significant pillar of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, and noted current and potential cooperation between Indian and Russian companies in the oil and gas sectors.
The two sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in developing stable and efficient transport corridors, with a focus on expanding logistics links, improving connectivity, and enhancing infrastructure capacity.
Both countries reaffirmed their intention to broaden cooperation in the civil nuclear sector, especially in providing life-cycle support for the operating units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. (end) atk.dm