Untapped potential still exists in Indo-Russian cooperation: President

 The Dollar Business Bureau India and Russia made a significant progress in various fields, however, there is still a considerable untapped potential for further strengthening our partnership. This was stated by President Pranab Mukherjee as he spoke on the sidelines of his recent visit to Russia with a Russian news agency, said an official release. “India and Russia have made significant progress in cooperation in defence and nuclear energy in the recent years,” said the President , while speaking on the substantial progress achieved by both the countries through bilateral cooperation in various fields. Stating that nuclear energy is an important component of India’s energy security strategy, the President expressed India’s deep value for exchanges with Russia in nuclear energy, referring to the multi-phase Kudankulam project. The President also said that various initiatives, to take Indo-Russian economic relations to a higher level, have been identified during the last annual summit held in New Delhi, which was also attended by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Highlighting the importance of the hydrocarbons sectors, the President informed that India and Russia also agreed to set an ambitious agenda for partnership in oil and natural gas sector during the Russian President’s visit to India. This also includes broader collaboration between our hydrocarbon companies in exploration and production, as well as in LNG projects and supplies, he added. On the military cooperation, the President said Indo-Russian military cooperation now includes joint research, design, development and production of advanced defence systems. Referring to BrahMos missile as a vivid illustrator for defining military cooperation between the two countries, the President said that India and Russia are willing to apply this experience to other defence platforms and equipment. The President also hailed Russia’s willingness over new opportunities for Indo-Russian collaboration under ‘Make in India’ programme in setting up manufacturing facilities in India for Russian weapons systems. "We are also strengthening our cooperation in space and are also actively working towards creating institutional linkages between educational and research institutions of both the countries," he added. "We will be further encouraging closer contacts between the regions of both the countries to give further impetus in this direction," said the President, adding, "We look forward to Russia steering BRICS as its chairman this year."    

May 7, 2015 | 7:44 pm IST.