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Modi To Meet with Putin Twice in the Coming Two Months
26 August 2016
EIRNS —In an article for the Indian news daily, The Asian Age, India’s former Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia, Ashok Sajjanhar, highlights the closer cooperation developing between Russia and India. Sajjanhar said this cooperation is reflected in the recent India visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who met with Prime Minister Modi, and the planned meetings between Modi and Putin set to take place in early September on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit, and again in Goa, India, in October when the BRICS Summit takes place. Sajjanhar lists a number of collaborative projects between Russia and India in line with Modi’s "Make in India" initiative. In the nuclear energy area, beside the 1000-MW VVER nuclear reactors in Kudankulam, Sajjanhar wrote: "The Russian atomic power corporation Rosatom is interested in participating in the `Make in India’ program through assembly of fuel rods and control system components." He also cites the joint production of 200 Russian light helicopters as part of the same program. In addition, he notes "the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor, trial runs on which took place on August 8, 2016, [and] construction and upgrading of Chabahar seaport to promote and improve connectivity with Central Asia, Russia and Afghanistan. India’s membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will provide several opportunities to promote security, stability and economic growth in Central Asia and the region," Sajjanhar wrote. |