The Indian guest pointed to rapid development of Russian-Indian relations adding, however, that they could be developing better. According to him, the main purpose of his first visit to Russia is to discuss cooperation in the military-technical and scientific-technical spheres.
"We fail to realize the bilateral trade potential in its full capacity. Today our trade turnover is $3 billion but at today's meeting with State Duma deputies I said that we can reach a $25 billion turnover over ten years," Abdul Kalam said.
The Indian President also spoke about the necessity to combat the roots of terrorism. "Terrorism is a big challenge against both Russia and India. We should find the sources of this evil," he said.
In his words, poverty is one of the main causes of terrorism. "Developed countries should help poor countries to prevent the terrorist threat," the Indian President said.
He also mentioned the problem of nuclear disarmament. India's nuclear doctrine implies the principle of total disarmament. Moreover, the country will never use nuclear weapons first.
"Many countries, above all Russia and the United States, have vast reserves of nuclear weapons. These countries should tend to complete nuclear disarmament. Then countries having small reserves will eliminate them, as well," Abdul Kalam said.
