The Hindu : India, Russia conclude spadework on naval deal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 23, 2002

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India, Russia conclude spadework on naval deal

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 22. Top Indian and Russian officials met today to conclude the spadework on a major naval deal and expedite plans to indigenously manufacture state-of-the-art Sukhoi fighter jets. The two sides also resolved to enter into new commercial tie-ups in several areas including telecom equipment and hydrocarbons which envisage investment of over $1 billion.

"The meetings were preparatory to the visit by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, from December 3 to 5. We discussed some of the agreements which will be signed during the forthcoming visit,'' the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, said after wrapping up discussions with the Russian Minister of Industry and Science & Technology, Ilya Klebanov.

Mr. Klebanov also called on the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and briefed him about the plans to impart a new impetus to bilateral trade and economic ties.

Meeting the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, in the morning, Mr. Klebanov, who is Mr. Putin's pointman for defence ties with India, discussed the strengthening of military ties in naval and air force sectors. An earnest attempt was made to finalise the particulars on customising a Russian aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.

The Indian side also touched upon the delay in the delivery of the three frigates due to the failure of their main surface-to-air missile systems.

At the meeting attended by the IAF chief and the Naval Vice-Chief, it was decided to work out details for speeding up the transfer of technology for making 140 Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets. The IAF is keen that time-period for manufacturing 140 planes in India be condensed by several years (50 jets are being supplied by Russia).

The issue of steady delivery of high quality spares for the existing military aircraft of Russian origin was also discussed with the Russian side.

While declining to stipulate any time frame, Mr. Klebanov expressed optimism over the possibility of some of the agreements maturing in due course. "We are almost ready to finalise some projects we have been discussing for two years. There should be some progress,'' he said. At the same time, he dampened expectations of a slew of defence deals being signed during Mr. Putin's visit. "

We are working towards finalisation but we haven't planned the signing of any agreements. Russia and India are working together on a day-to-day basis and there is no need to expedite any contract.'' With bilateral trade already at a low level and set to decline further due to tapering off of Indian debt repayments to Russia, the meeting with Mr. Sinha saw considerable attention being paid to this aspect. The two sides agreed on the need to promote increased interaction among corporates and industry associations to prepare for trading through normal commercial channels in the post-Rupee scenario.

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