“We have finalised negotiations with regard to reaching an agreement on the cooperation in the construction of additional nuclear power plants in India,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here at a joint press conference with visiting Russian Prime Minister Viktor A Zubkov.

The agreement is being held back until the relaxation of NSG guidelines happened.
The two leaders appeared for a brief press interaction following their delegation-level talks during which they reviewed all aspects of bilateral ties, including defence ties which have encountered some obstacles in recent months. Singh, who described their talks as “extremely productive and comprehensive,” did not go into the contentious issue of renegotiating the Gorshkov aircraft carrier deal but emphasised that both the sides were committed to “build upon our defence relations which is an important pillar of our Strategic Partnership.”

Russia has cited cost escalation and additional work in the conversation of Gorshkov to demand a renegotiation of the deal struck in 2004 for $1.5 bn. Delhi is understood to have opened up itself for renegotiating the deal in view of the fact that the delivery deadline has already been missed.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the level of relations in core areas of strength like science and technology, space and civil nuclear cooperation.

However, they agreed the need to step up bilateral trade which of late has shown positive trends. They agreed to operationalise the Joint Task Force to implement recommendations to increase bilateral trade to $10 bn by 2010. The areas identified for stepped up economic cooperation are hydrocarbons — oil and natural gas. There was also emphasis on greater private sector involvement to add dynamism to trade and economic cooperation.