PM visit: India to buy 42 ‘upgraded’ Sukhois

PM visit: India to buy 42 ‘upgraded’ Sukhois

New Delhi After negotiating for more than a year, India has firmed up an order with Russia for the purchase of 42 upgraded Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft to strengthen its aging fleet. An agreement confirming this purchase will be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Russia starting Thursday.

While the Cabinet Committee on Security had taken a decision on buying 42 additional Sukhoi MKIs last year, negotiations have taken longer because India was also keen to include some of the features found in fifth generation fighter aircraft. Finally, the Russian side agreed to upgrade the SU-30 MKIs to its latest version known as ‘Super Sukhoi’ with additional characteristics.

The new version is expected to include a new cockpit, an upgraded radar and certain stealth features to avoid radar detection. Significantly, the upgraded Sukhoi-30 MKIs will be able to carry a heavier weapons load, especially the airborne version of the Brahmos cruise missile. India is also looking to upgrade most of its SU-30 MKIs in the long run.

While Russia may have lost out in the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal because of not being able to offer certain additional features, officials said, Moscow has assured New Delhi that it will roll out its best in upgraded SU-30 MKIs.

“The defence cooperation is robust and excellent. Our two countries have developed maturity that individual deals will not affect the ties,” said Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai while responding to a question on whether the MMRCA rejection will impact defence ties.

The deal, estimated at over Rs 20,000 crore, will be operational in three years with the first delivery expected in 2014 and the last by 2018. Once the 42 aircraft are inducted, the total strength of SU-30 MKI fleet will go up to 272. It may be noted that by 2017, India plans to phase out 120 MiG 21s and with the MMRCA still not a done deal, the SU-30 MKI fleet will be the mainstay.

Meanwhile, India and Russia have still not finalised the agreement for two more reactors at Koodankulam. Though indications are that the deal will not be signed during the PM’s visit, Mathai said that a call is yet to taken on the subject.

IANS  Moscow, December 16, 2011 | UPDATED 11:01 IST

PM to hold talks with Medvedev, Putin during Indo-Russian Summit

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/moscow-manmohan-singh-dmitry-medvedev-vladimir-putin-indo-russian-summit/1/164468.html

Seeking to enhance bilateral cooperation in nuclear, energy, defence and economic spheres, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold a summit meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after which both countries are to sign major deals in the fields of defence, health and science and technology.

Singh, who arrived in Moscow on Thursday evening, will visit Kremlin, the seat of power of the Russian Federation, for a meeting with Medvedev and later for delegation level talks, when a host of issues such as the Kundankulam nuclear power plant's units III and IV deal, comprehensive economic cooperation agreement and others are expected to figure and a slew of agreements are to be signed.

The summit meeting comes at a time when Russia is witnessing public unrest over what the protesters allege is a fraud in the Duma elections held on December 4, which left the ruling United Russia Party with a reduced majority in parliament.

After the summit meeting, the Prime Minister will attend a India-Russia meeting of captains of industry, where hurdles relating to growth of bilateral trade, which hovers close to $10 billion, will be debated. The two countries have fixed a target of $20 billion by 2015.

But India-Russia bilateral trade is dwarfed when compared to Russia-China trade that is worth about $60 billion.

Later in the evening, Singh is slated to meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is also the ruling United Russia's presidential candidate for the March 2012 polls and who is the target of current anti-government road stirs in Russia.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/moscow-manmohan-singh-dmitry-medvedev-vladimir-putin-indo-russian-summit/1/164468.html

PM to meet Medvedev, Putin today during Indo-Russian summit

The PM had, prior to his departure for Moscow, emphasised on the long-standing and historic ties between the two nations and expressed hope of taking the relationship to a new level. "Both countries recognise the significant mutual benefit we derive from working together...Our bilateral relations with Russia are based on mutual trust, friendship and shared interests", the PM had said in a statement.

Dr Singh was received by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister A M Vadakin on his arrival at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. He will be meeting his Russian counterpart Medvedev during the day followed by a high-level delegation meeting between the both sides. Later in the evening, the PM is also slated to meet President Vladimir Putin, who is in the eye of a political storm.

Observing that President Putin has played a key role in the development of "our Strategic Partnership, and has been the architect of our contemporary relationship," Dr Singh, in his statement, said, "I will review with him the progress we have made in our relations since his visit to India in March 2010".

New Delhi is hoping to ramp up its strategic relations with Moscow and also sign agreements in the fields of defence, health and science and technology during the summit. "Our relations encompass diverse sectors, including nuclear energy, defence, space, science and technology, hydrocarbons, trade and investment and people-to-people exchanges," Dr Singh said.

The bilateral summit has already received a major boost after official sources in New Delhi confirmed yesterday that a Nerpa-class nuclear submarine leased for 10 years from Russia would be joining the Indian Navy in early 2012. The development came just hours after the PM reached Moscow for the bilateral summit. (Read)

Bilateral trade is expected to figure high in the agenda of the summit. It has already witnessed a 15 per cent growth from $7.46 billion in 2009 to $8.535 billion in 2010. The two countries, in 2009, decided to target $20 billion worth of bilateral trade by 2015 with a focus on energy, pharmaceuticals, IT, steel, hydrocarbons, aerospace and agriculture.

The PM also that he would focus focus on increased consultations with Russia in international forums during the bilateral summit.

"I will discuss with Medvedev how to further enhance our consultations in international forums like the United Nations Security Council, G20, BRICS as well as the East Asia Summit which Russia has recently joined. I am convinced that the India-Russia consultation on global issues is more necessary today than ever before", Dr Singh said.

He said he would also hold "in-depth exchange of views with the Russian leadership on the crisis facing the global economy and the political developments in our extended neighbourhood".

This, the PM said, included the situation in the "Gulf and Afghanistan and the impact of all this on peace and stability in the world."

"The perspectives of our countries on these developments are marked by a high degree of convergence."

(With agency inputs)


For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/pm-to-meet-medvedev-putin-today-during-indo-russian-summit-158294&cp

16 December 2011 Last updated at 05:51 GMT