Bangalore: Several project agreements are expected to be signed at the end of the two-day 11th session of the Indo-Russian council for the integrated long-term programme of co-operation (ILTP) in science and technology, which commenced on November 6.

Department of Science and Technology officials said that the joint council at its meeting would recommend 80 new projects and consider 147 ongoing projects.

Apart from this, the council would have policy level discussions to further enhance bilateral co-operation, they said.

The officials said that about 200 projects had been completed by the bilateral co- operation between the two countries in the area of science and technology since 1987, when this co-operation began.

The Indian delegation was led by renowned scientist C N R Rao and the Russian team by academician F A Kuznetsov, director of the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Novosihirsk.

The programme was jointly initiated by India and the erstwhile Soviet Union and despite the breakdown of the Soviet Union, the ILTP continued.

Considering the benefits accrued from the programme, India and Russia concluded a new agreement in October 2000 to extend the programme by another decade with a focus on technology transfer, the officials said.

PTI