Continuing their tradition of nuclear cooperation, Russia and India signed a civilian nuclear cooperation deal on Monday. The ‘Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy’ signed during their annual bilateral summit, will set up five new nuclear reactors in the states of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Prime Minister Singh said,
“Today we have signed an agreement which broadens the reach of our cooperation beyond the supply of nuclear reactors to areas of research and development and a whole range of areas of nuclear energy.”
The two countries discussed increasing trade and defense cooperation. Singh told reporters in Moscow,
“We have decided to set a trade target of 20 billion US dollars by 2015. We have identified the areas of energy, Information Technology and Communications, and pharmaceuticals as the new thrust areas for cooperation.“
Russia also said that India deserved a permanent seat at the UN Security Council and that UNSC reforms should reflect modern-day realities. Rediff.com quotes President Medvedev as saying that,
“the UNSC reform should be carried out in a way to reflect the modern-day realities and make this organisation more representative and effective in resolving the existing and emerging tasks.“