Moscow, Dec 26: In a major boost to their time-tested partnership, India and Russia on Tuesday signed some “very important” agreements related to the construction of the future power-generating units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a five-day visit to Russia, made the announcement after his “comprehensive and productive” meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on the bilateral economic cooperation during which they witnessed signing of agreements on nuclear power and in areas of medicines, pharmaceutical substances and medical devices.
“Today, in my presence and that of Deputy Prime Minister Manturov, we signed some very important agreements pertaining to the future units of the Kudankulam nuclear project,” he said while addressing the Indian diaspora here.
The Kudankulam nuclear power plant, India’s largest, is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. The construction began in March 2002. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW. The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027, according to Russian state media.
During the meeting, Jaishankar noted the significant progress in trade, finance, connectivity, energy, civil aviation and nuclear domains.
“Appreciated the greater focus on exploring new opportunities. Discussed making our cooperation more balanced and sustainable in different dimensions,” he said in a post on X.
In his address to the Indian community, Jaishankar described Russia as a “special partner” in a few areas such as defence, nuclear power and space.
“Collaborations are done in areas of defence, space and nuclear [energy] with countries with which you have a high degree of trust,” he added.
Jaishankar also said that the two sides have agreed that their negotiating teams will meet by the end of January to start in-person negotiations on the free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Zone. (PTI)
