A Package Of Key Agreements To Be Signed During A Visit Of Prime Minister Of India To Russia

A package of documents is to be signed during a state visit of Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Russia which is slated for November 4-7. This was announced at a news conference on Wednesday by Ambassador of India to Russia Krishnan Raghunath. According to him, these documents are meant to consolidate the existing legal base of Russian-Indian relations which are characterized as strategic partnership. The sides are expected to sign an agreement on political and strategic issues, agreement in energy sphere, agreement on expanding scientific and technological cooperation and in the sphere of communications, as well as an agreement between scientific institutions. Moreover, a banking agreement will be signed - on opening of an Indian bank in Moscow and the development of correspondent relations between Indian and Russian banks, as well as a document on establishing relations between business circles of our countries, the opening of a credit line in Eximbank with a view to financing trade and economic cooperation, and an agreement on cooperation between Russian regions and Indian states. Delhi sees the reason of such great activity in the considerable increase of the volume and expansion of the assortment of economic, scientific and technical cooperation as well as in the strengthening of the political and strategic dialogue. In the Ambassador's opinion, the dynamism of relations embracing both traditional and new spheres of cooperation manifests itself, in particular, in the agreement on large-scale projects in the sphere of industry. One of such projects is Sakhalin-1 - on oil and natural gas - is the biggest capital investment of India abroad.