NEW DELHI: As External affairs minister
S Jaishankar
held talks with Russian deputy PM and trade minister Denis Manturov, India and
Russia
signed agreements to facilitate the construction of future units of the Kudankulam nuclear project in Tamil Nadu.
Jaishankar, who is on a 5-day visit to Russia that will see him holding talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, described Russia as a special partner in areas like defence, space, and nuclear power.
“Today, in my presence and that of Deputy PM (Denis) Manturov, we signed some very important agreements about the future units of the Kudankulam nuclear project,” he said.
“Collaborations are done in areas of defence, space, and nuclear energy with countries with which you have a high degree of trust,” he added. With India’s crude imports from Russia increasing significantly, both sides expressed confidence that annual bilateral trade volume will reach $100 billion from the present $ 50 billion in a few years.
Jaishankar also said that the two sides by the end of January will start in-person negotiations on the free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Zone.
“If one looks at our economy, influence, and impact on the world today, it is very different from 10 years ago and will be different 10 years later. We went on from the 10th largest economy a decade ago, to be the 5th largest now and will hopefully be the 3rd largest and beyond that, later,” Jaishankar said.
Asked about the trade payment issue between Russia and India, the minister said that “in an unusual situation, we are trying to find ways by which banks deal with each other”.
“People are unclear what is happening...If you don’t have a full picture or you don’t have confidence, people hold back. Those who have banking relationships and do business with Russia can educate people about good banks, safe routes,” he said.
“We have been trying to find a solution regarding the payment problem,” he said.
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