NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Moscow on Wednesday afternoon to attend the annual summit with President Vladimir Putin, during which India and Russia will give high priority to trade and finalise key agreements in the nuclear field.
This will be Modi’s second meeting with Putin this year after the BRICS Summit in July. Putin will host a private dinner for Modi on Wednesday night. The talks will be on December 24 when the two sides are set to sign a slew of pacts, including an agreement for units 5 and 6 of the Koodankulam nuclear power project, one on a new site for Russia’s second nuclear power complex in Andhra Pradesh and another on localisation of components for nuclear projects as part of the ‘Make in India’ drive.
“We have a very special strategic relationship with Russia and this spanned key sectors such as defence, nuclear cooperation and space,” said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar at a briefing. He added India has an understanding with Russia to build 12 nuclear power plants. “The first plant at Koodankulam has been built and is in the process of getting connected to the grid,” he added.
Modi is scheduled to visit Russian Emercom, a centre for national disaster management forces, where he will be briefed on real-time monitoring of civil emergencies.