Russia and India to ink energy, space pacts

India and Russia were due to sign several pacts on defence, civilian nuclear energy, space and trade during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, officials said Monday. The Russian leader was slated to arrive in New Delhi shortly after midnight Monday and for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
In an interview with the Times of India daily, Medvedev said his visit would see both countries signing an integrated programme of co-operation in science, technology and innovation through 2020. Russian envoy Alexander Kadakin said more than a dozen agreements, including those to develop sophisticated fifth-generation fighter aircraft and build more nuclear reactors in India, could be signed.
Kadakin said Moscow was looking to build 14 to 16 nuclear reactors in India over the next few years but asked New Delhi to bring its civilian nuclear liability legislation in line with global norms, the IANS news agency reported. On Tuesday, Singh and Medvedev would discuss a range of bilateral and regional matters including the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan apart from global issues.
The two sides would also discuss raising trade volume to 20 billion dollars in 2015, from the current 7.5 billion dollars. Moscow also plans to bid for India's contract of 126 combat jets. "Our ties with Russia have been friendly and warm," Singh said ahead of Medvedev's visit. "We are confident that our relations with the Russian Federation will continue to be excellent in the future as well," he added.
India and Russia have had traditionally strong ties since the Cold-War era when New Delhi was seen to be aligned to Kremlin. Relations between the countries have continued to grow in the past years, with India becoming a leading importer of Russian military hardware. But over the past years, the fast-growing Asian country has been courted by other world powers seeking at trade and job opportunities. Britain's David Cameron, US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have all visited Delhi this year to bolster ties.