NEW DELHI, December 6 (Sputnik) – Russia and India are likely to sign about 15 to 20 agreements on the sidelines of Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India scheduled for next week, a source from India’s Ministry of External Affairs said at a Friday briefing.
The agreements will be in the fields of defense, nuclear energy, customs and banking, according to the government source, who asked not to be named.
Putin is due to arrive in India on December 10 to attend the 15th Annual India-Russia Summit, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The sides are expected to discuss the proposed Russia-India gas pipeline.
Russian and Indian officials are also expected to talk about the construction of third and fourth units for the Kudankulam nuclear power plant as part of a comprehensive review of the Indo-Russia nuclear cooperation.
As for the defense sector, the two countries are to sign the joint Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft Program.
According to the Foreign Ministry's source, around 60 to 70 percent of the military hardware used by India is from Russia, and Moscow will remain a major defense partner in the future.
