India, Russia sign pacts on future units of Kudankulam plant

While addressing the Indian diaspora in Moscow, he said, “… we signed some very important agreements pertaining to the future units of the Kudankulam nuclear project.” With PM Narendra Modi skipping Russia for the annual summit for the second year in a row, Jaishankar is in Moscow on a five-day visit to meet the Russian leadership.

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. The construction began in March 2002. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW. The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027, according to Russian state media.

After the meeting with Manturov, Jaishankar tweeted, “A comprehensive and productive meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov of Russia on our bilateral economic cooperation. Noted the significant progress in trade, finance, connectivity, energy, civil aviation and nuclear domains.”

“Appreciated the greater focus on exploring new opportunities. Discussed making our cooperation more balanced and sustainable in different dimensions,” he said. “Finalised the programme of cooperation on the Russian Far East. Expect to hold an early meeting of EaEU-India FTA negotiators. Will jointly organise connectivity events across land and maritime corridors,” Jaishankar said.

“Witnessed signing of agreements on nuclear power and in areas of medicines, pharmaceutical substances and medical devices,” he said. Jaishankar also said the two sides have agreed that their negotiating teams will meet by January-end to start in-person negotiations on free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Zone.

To a question on payment problem between Russia and India, he said in “an unusual situation, we are trying to find ways by which banks deal with each other”.

“People are unclear what is happening…If you don’t have a full picture or you don’t have confidence, people hold back. Those who have banking relationships, do business with Russia can educate people about good banks, safe routes,” he said. On Wednesday, Jaishankar will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss bilateral, multilateral, and international issues.