This evening, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is en route to India. The official portion of his visit will start on Friday, whereupon he will meet with the Indian president and prime minister, hold a web conference with local residents, and sign a dozen contracts and agreements amounting to almost $10 billion.
According to long-standing tradition, the prime minister's visit to New Delhi will focus on military cooperation. In particular, the Russian government does not rule out the possibility of signing an additional contract concerning the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, which Russia had originally promised to modernise and deliver to India by the end of 2008, but later delayed, asking New Delhi for additional financing.
"We are approaching a contract that will suit both parties," Deputy Head of the Government Executive Office, Yury Ushakov, told reporters yesterday.
According to Ushakov, another important deal regarding the Admiral Gorshkov will, to all appearances, be made during Putin's visit. In accordance with the contract in question, Russia would supply India with 29 MiG-29K fighters to be based on aircraft carriers that can fulfill combat missions at any time of day and in all weather conditions. These aircraft would be based on the modernised Admiral Gorshkov.
Ushakov also admitted that tomorrow Russia and India would most likely discuss the agreement on the joint manufacture by Russia and India of Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. According to the Indian mass media, the project may cost $8–10 billion, and these fighters will be manufactured on the basis of the Future Frontline Aircraft System which was designed at the Sukhoi bureau and had recently been launched. Nevertheless, Ushakov said that he cannot say for sure whether an agreement on this issue would be reached.
The documents that will be signed for sure concern agreements on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with India in the construction of new generating units for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, a master agreement on fertilizer supplies to India, and a document establishing a joint venture to produce land navigation equipment that will receive signals from GLONASS.
According to Ushakov, this final document concerns the joint production of GLONASS receivers, which remains a soft spot in the Russian global positioning system. A large delegation including Deputy Prime Ministers Sergei Sobaynin and Sergei Ivanov, ministers and representatives of state corporations and private businesses will go together with Putin, who is visiting New Delhi for the fifth time since 2000 and for the first time since his appointment as prime minister.
During his visit to India, Putin will also attempt a novel web-based conference on investments, the energy sector, and the cultural sphere with residents of Bangalore, Calcutta, and Mumbai. According to Ushakov, this innovative form of communication with the Indian people was chosen "for the sake of diversity" . The official did not specify how long the conference would last.
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It is possible that Russia and India will design the fifth generation fighter together.
Alexander Latyshev