President
Patil in Russia to Fortify Ties;
Talks on Energy, IT & Defence
Tech Tie-Ups
$10-bn Two-Way Trade Achievable
President
Pratibha Patil paid a week-long
state visit to Russia and Tajikistan
from 2 to 8 September 2009, which
she described as “purposeful
and productive, reflecting the
deep rooted friendship we have
with them.” In Russia, President
Patil met Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin in the Kremlin and held
discussions on wide-ranging issues.
“We noted with satisfaction
the regular contacts between the
political leadership of the two
countries, particularly the practice
of the Annual Summit meetings.
My visit was thus a further consolidation
of these contacts and a reiteration
that links with Russia are special
for India, which have strengthened
across the twentieth into the
twenty first century and across
a generation,” she said
at the end of her visit.
President Patil said her meeting
with President Medvedev was held
in the Kremlin on 3 September
in an atmosphere of trust and
friendship, reflecting the strategic
partnership between India and
Russia.
“We both acknowledged that
the enduring relationship between
India and Russian Federation has
been marked by continuity, trust
and mutual understanding. We reviewed
ongoing bilateral cooperation
in various fields and discussed
ways and means to further diversifying
and strengthening our engagement.
We also exchanged views on regional
and international issues of importance,”
she said.
During a dinner given in her honour
by the Russian President, the
Indian head of State referred
to the former's successful visit
to India in December last year
and said that it provided the
opportunity to review all aspects
of bilateral cooperation between
the two countries.
“Decisions taken and agreements
reached during your visit are
being satisfactorily implemented.
Joint work is being carried out
on the large number of documents
signed during your visit. Our
traditionally strong bilateral
relations have rested on foundations
of political, defence and economic
exchanges which are of a substantial
nature. Besides strategic areas
such as energy, space and defence,
mutual investments in industries,
high-technology, cooperation in
Information Technology, banking,
finance, management and other
service sectors, are some areas
that offer plenty of scope. Culture
and tourism promote economic cooperation,
goodwill and people-to-people
contacts between nations. In this
context, contributions of the
'Year of Russia' in India and
the 'Year of India' in Russia
are significant,” President
Patil said.
During President Patil's meeting
with Prime Minister Putin, she
had conveyed to him that India
really appreciated Russia's support
in the economic, energy, defence
and nuclear fields and that “our
relationship stood on its own,
it had strong foundations and
would not be affected by our relationship
with other countries. He spoke
in detail about the potential
of co-operation, especially in
energy.”
The other leaders that President
Patil met were the Chairman of
the Federation Council and the
Chairman of the State Duma. In
St. Petersburg, she had meetings
with President's Representative
to the North-Western region and
the Acting Governor of St. Petersburg.
With these leaders too, her talks
were “invigorating and warm.”
“Among the issues we discussed
were the establishment of regular
inter-Parliamentary exchanges
and institutionalization of the
mechanism of contacts between
the executive and judicial bodies,
and promoting co-operation across
multiple fields. Our two countries
are agreed that there is ample
potential for expansion of cooperation
in the fields of energy - including
hydrocarbons and peaceful uses
of nuclear energy, military technical
cooperation, space and information
technology.” President Patil
said.
She said the subject of bilateral
trade had come up on several occasions
during the various meetings with
Russian leaders.” We expressed
satisfaction that the target of
US$ 10 billion by 2010 appeared
achievable despite the ongoing
global financial crisis. We agreed
that the existing level of bilateral
economic cooperation was much
below its potential given the
size of our two economies.”
President Patil said that Tajikistan
remained an important partner
for India in the Central Asian
region “which is our extended
neighbourhood. While Tajikistan
is a young nation, it is an old
civilization and we have a number
of common strands in our centuries
old ties. My visit, the first
ever by an Indian President to
Tajikistan, has only renewed these
age old ties.”
The Indian President said she
had fruitful exchange of views
on global and regional issues
with Tajikistan President Rahmon.
“While reiterating our commitment
to build on our close and cooperative
relations, we have identified
new areas for further diversifying
our cooperation. I stated our
commitment to assist Tajikistan
in its efforts at nation building
through sharing our experiences
in human resource development,
in agriculture, science and technology,
Information Technology, health
and education and in the areas
of youth and sports. “
President Patil said both countries
had agreed on the need for establishing
direct air links between New Delhi
and Dushanbe. “In response
to an invitation extended, Tajikistan
agreed to participate in the India
International Garment Fair to
be held in New Delhi in January
2010,” she added.
President Patil said the trade
delegation that traveled with
her had fruitful discussions with
their counterparts in Tajikistan
and these were expected to lead
to concrete outcomes. “We
would like to see a strong and
vibrant trade and economic relationship,
which reflects the close relations
we share with Tajikistan in other
spheres,” she added.
President Patil said that in noth
Russia and Tajikistan the desire
of the leadership to build close
and cooperative relations with
India were clearly manifested.
“I was delighted to meet
the members of the Indian community
and friends of India in both countries,
particularly the sizeable group
of Indian students. We are proud
of our diaspora's achievements.
I was also impressed by the local
students in both countries learning
Hindi, Indian music and dance,”
she said.
President Patil said she had extended
invitations to President Medvedev
and President Rahmon to visit
India. These invitations had been
accepted and mutually convenient
dates would be worked out through
diplomatic channels. “These
visits would enable us to sustain
the momentum of our ever increasing
relations,” she said.
“I return home satisfied
with the visits and the outcomes.
I also come back with the firm
impression that there are many
areas where there can be mutually
beneficial co-operation. Given
the immense possibilities, I am
confident that existing sectors
of co-operation would be strengthened
further and new areas including
energy needs, identified,”
President Patil added.
