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PM Narendra Modi leaves for Russia, dinner with President Vladimir Putin tonight

By FnF Desk | PUBLISHED: 23, Dec 2015, 10:40 am IST | UPDATED: 23, Dec 2015, 13:40 pm IST

PM Narendra Modi leaves for Russia, dinner with President Vladimir Putin tonight New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Russia today for a two-day visit that is part of the annual summit talks with President Vladimir Putin. On the agenda - signing big defence deals, expanding economic ties and talks on terrorism.
Here are the latest developments

On Wednesday evening, President Putin will host PM Modi for dinner in Moscow. The two leaders will hold talks on Thursday. After their meeting, they are expected to sign key agreements on defence and nuclear energy.

On Thursday, PM Modi will also address about 3,000 members of the Indian community.

A day before his departure, on Tuesday, PM Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security which is understood to have cleared at least two deals that are likely to be signed during his Russia trip.

Russia and India will jointly manufacture 200 Kamov-226T helicopters, in what is seen as a first big step for PM Modi's "Make in India" push in the defence sector.

Earlier, Defence Ministry sources have said India is also looking at the possibility of leasing a second nuclear submarine from Russia. Last week, the Ministry cleared the purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems at an estimated cost of Rs. 40,000 crore.

Also, India, the third largest oil importer after the US and China, has been pushing for greater involvement in major gas and oil exploration projects in Russia. Russia is one of the top oil producers globally and has huge reserves of natural gas.

We expect to sign a number of agreements covering a very broad range of fields. Final touches are being given on some of them," Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told reporters.

Expanding economic ties is also top of the agenda, with CEOs from both sides meeting. Currently bilateral trade stands at $10 billion, which the two countries want to enhance to $30 billion in the next 10 years.

PM Modi and President Putin will also discuss the situation in Syria and ways to tackle terrorism. This would definitely be one of the most important engagements for us," Mr Jaishankar said.

India has also watched with some concern, Russia's decision to supply attack helicopters to Pakistan, though that has officially been played down.