MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised Russian-Indian cooperation at a meeting with the country's foreign minister on Wednesday.
"I am greatly pleased to meet you, having in mind the energetic, systemic, multifaceted political dialogue between Russia and India. In the context of this dialogue, your visit is undoubtedly one of the key visits," Medvedev said at a meeting with Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna.
During Wednesday morning's meeting of a bilateral intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation, co-chaired by Krishna from the Indian side, Moscow and New Delhi agreed to further develop relations in the fuel and energy sphere.
Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, has been building two reactors for the Kudankulam plant in the southern province of Tamil Nadu since 2002 in line with a 1988 deal between India and the Soviet Union and an addendum signed 10 years later.
A Russian deputy prime minister, Sergei Sobyanin, who co-chairs the bilateral commission from the Russian side, said bilateral trade grew 11% in the first nine months of 2009 and could exceed $8 billion by the end of the year.
He also said Russia and India were striving to increase trade to $20 billion by 2015 and that the two countries could soon conclude a nuclear cooperation agreement.
The countries' leaders are due to meet in early December. During the summit, the countries are likely to extend their strategic and military partnership by signing a new military cooperation pact.
