Trade to be focus of Vajpayee's visit to Russia

Monday, 10 November 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Ten agreements to enhance cooperation in areas ranging from space exploration to counter-terrorism will be signed during Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Russia, but the focus will be boosting trade and investment. Vajpayee, accompanied by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, senior officials and a 90-member business delegation, Tuesday begins a three-nation tour that will take him to Russia, Tajikistan and Syria. Moscow is the first stop on the six-day visit. "The focus will be on bilateral trade and investment, which have been stagnating," Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told journalists here on the eve of Vajpayee's departure. "There is an urgent need to boost trade and investment," he said, describing the annual bilateral trade with Russia of $1.4 billion as "disappointing". Stronger economic ties should complement India's strategic relations with Russia, he said. An inter-banking agreement will be among the 10 documents to be signed during the summit between Vajpayee and Russian President Valdimir Putin. The Confederation of Indian Industry will reopen its office in Moscow while a joint venture by the State Bank of India and Canara Bank is expected to get clearance soon to start operations in Moscow. Vajpayee will also address a meeting of Indian and Russian captains of industry Thursday. Other agreements to be signed during the visit pertain to cooperation in science and hi-tech, the setting up of a centre for earthquake research and the joint publication of archival documents. A joint declaration on countering threats to global security will also be issued. The two sides will review their extensive cooperation in defence, atomic energy and space, Sibal said. India this year received two modern frigates from Russia and the two sides are developing the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. "It's clear both sides are interested in stepping up cooperation in the civilian nuclear sector. India is interested in getting more nuclear reactors," Sibal said. But the two sides were yet to find a solution to problems posed by restrictions imposed by the Nuclear Suppliers Group regime, Sibal said. This will be Vajpayee's second visit to Russia this year and the third summit with Putin since the two countries signed a Declaration of Strategic Partnership in October 2000 and institutionalised the system of annual summits. The Indian prime minister will begin the visit Tuesday with a "quiet dinner" with Putin at a dacha, at which no aides will be present, Sibal said. Summit-level talks will be held Wednesday, during which Vajpayee and Putin are expected to synchronise their positions on a host of international and regional issues of bilateral concern Issues related to international terrorism, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia are expected to dominate the talks. The Russian foreign and defence ministers would call on Vajpayee later. Vajpayee will also address the Russian Academy of Sciences and meet members of the Indian community in Moscow. On Thursday, Vajpayee will travel to Tajikistan, becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit the Central Asian nation since its independence. In Dushanbe, he will hold talks with President Emomali Rakhmanov and Prime Minister Akil Akilov. The two sides will also sign agreements on fighting terrorism and measures to protect and encourage investments. Vajpayee will arrive in Syria Friday for a three-day visit, becoming the first senior Indian leader to travel to that country since former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. Vajpayee will hold talks with President Bashar al-Assad and the two sides will sign agreements for cooperation in areas like science, education, IT and small-scale industries. But Sibal noted the "political content of this visit" had greater significance as Syria was a key regional player and it shared borders with Israel and Iraq. "It will give us an opportunity to discuss both volatile issues," he said. Syria could give its assessment of the ground situation in Iraq, which he noted was "becoming more and more difficult".
Source: IANS
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