Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday unveiled a vision of robust strategic partnership between India and Russia, saying the relations remain “firmly rooted in a mutual bond of friendship, understanding and trust” despite major transformations in the world.

Singh profusely thanked his Vladimir Putin for his personal contribution to cementing India-Russia relations, at a banquet hosted by the Russian President in his honour, wrapping up his two-day visit here.

He lauded Putin’s statesmanship and his “strong leadership of Russia, and the impact this has had in creating a stable and balanced world order.”

Singh underlined that major changes are under way both in India and Russia, but asserted that these transformations will only deepen their time-tested ties.

He noted that a strategic partnership with Russia was “critical” in achieving India’s objectives for socially inclusive economic growth and to be a factor for peace and stability in the world.

“We seek all-round expansion of our relationship with Russia covering diverse fields such as economy, energy security, defence and security, counter-terrorism, science and technology, art and culture,” he said.
Singh held talks with Putin on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the intensification of economic ties, civil nuclear cooperation, the Iranian issue, the trilateral cooperation between India, Russia and China, and the situation in their neighbourhood.

“Through our discussions today, we have consolidated and strengthened our engagement in different areas. I am very satisfied with the results of my visit,” Singh said hours before wrapping up his two-day whirlwind visit to Moscow.

Earlier, at a joint press interaction, PM said Russia  “has always been a reliable supplier and will always be a reliable partner”.


FOUR PACTS INKED
Moscow, agencies: India and Russia on Monday signed four agreements in space, defence, trade and narcotics control sectors, but agreed to defer a pact on Moscow building four additional nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu till the Nuclear Suppliers Group clears the India-US nuclear deal.
The two sides, however, stressed they will continue to expand their co-operation in civilian nuclear energy.
The space agreement was signed outside the Kremlin between the Indian Space Research Organisation and Russia’s Federal Space Agency.
The four agreements are — joint moon exploration under Chandrayaan-II project and exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes; the utilisation of rupee-rouble debt for Russian investments in India; the joint production of a multi-role transport aircraft, and control of narcotics trafficking.