India and Russia on Friday agreed to set up joint ventures for manufacturing aircraft and automobiles, in an effort to boost trade and economic ties as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country, reported PTI. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the declining bilateral trade between the two countries had been reversed in 2017 and rose by 29% in the first quarter.
“As of today the sides have agreed on a list of 19 projects aimed at establishing joint ventures for transport infrastructure, new technology, including pharmaceuticals, aircraft and automobile manufacturing, the diamond industry, and agriculture,” Putin said in St Petersburg.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of various agreements – on intellectual property, a master framework agreement on building two units at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, a programme of bilateral cultural exchanges for 2017-2019, an agreement on a feasibility study for a high- speed link between Nagpur and Secunderabad, and a memorandum on cooperation between joint stock company ALROSA and India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council – after the summit talks were held, added the PTI report.
Documents on building Russian-designed nuclear power plants at new sites in India, developing a bilateral leasing platform, developing bilateral investment activity, and developing rail transport vehicles, were also signed. Indian investment in the Russian economy exceeded $8 billion, while Russian investment in India also crossed the $4 billion mark.
Putin said the cooperation between the two countries was not just limited to the direct supply of modern Russian weapons to India as they would now jointly develop and manufacture these. Putin said he was proud of the capital the two countries had developed together , but felt that it was now time to move on to sophisticated forms of cooperation. “We invite our partners to localise production in Russia. We know Prime Minister Modi’s idea regarding projects in India in areas where we can support each other and exchange modern technology. We can do this on a bilateral basis, of course, in areas where we are competitive at the global level.”
Earlier, the two countries had issued a joint declaration, condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The statement had said there could be “no justification whatsoever for any acts of terrorism, whether based upon ideological, religious, political, racial, ethnic or any other reasons.”
Modi is currently on a four-nation European tour. He had visited Germany and Spain before arriving in Russia. In the final leg of his tour, Modi will head to France, where he will meet the newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron for the first time.
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