New Delhi: Declaring that India will continue to attach the 'highest importance'' to
its relations with Russia, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on December 11 said
in Lok Sabha that the important accords signed during President Vladimir Putin's
visit in December 2002 would further consolidate strategic partnership between the
two countries.
Making a suo motu statement on Putin's state visit from December 3 to December 5,
Vajpayee announced that in keeping with the commitment to hold annual summits, he
had accepted the invitation to visit Russia in the year 2003.
He said India 'fully agreed' with Russian view that the international regime on
civilian applications of nuclear energy needed reforms.
On defence co-operation, he said this now transcended a buyer-seller relationship
and included joint research, development and production.
He said the two countries were now embarking on co-production of the state-of-the
art Brahmos missile system, a product of joint research and development efforts, for
its induction into the armed forces of both countries.
The visit underlined the mutual commitment of the two countries to constantly
strengthen their strategic partnership, intensify political consultations and to
give a new dimension to economic relations.
Russia agreed with India's position that it could resume dialogue with Pakistan only
when Islamabad stopped cross-border infiltration and dismantled the terrorist
infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled territory.
During the visit, the two sides signed the 'Delhi Declaration' on further
consolidating strategic partnership, a joint declaration on strengthening economic,
scientific and technological co-operation and a Memorandum of Understanding on co-
operation in combating terrorism, besides inking agreements on co-operation in
telecommunications and on intellectual property rights in science and
technology.
''We believe that these documents will further strengthen the politico-legal basis
of the multi-faceted co-operation between the two countries," he said.
Both sides agreed that there was need to expand trade in high value, hi-tech items
as well as in areas such as oil and gas and diamonds, he added.
PTI
