Putin's visit to India rekindled an old flame, reports Rajeshree Sisodia from New Delhi Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India earlier this week reaffirmed the close ties between the two former Cold War allies and raised important questions about the future of India-Russia relations. The three-day visit, Putin's first to the sub-continent in two years, included meeting Indian premier Manmohan Singh and senior Indian government officials in New Delhi as well as Information Technology (IT) entrepreneurs in the south Indian high-tech capital Bangalore. Key to the visit were the public expressions of support both leaders gave for Russian and Indian attempts to gain greater political clout in the international arena. Putin pushed for India to have a greater role in the UN Security Council, while Singh encouraged Russia to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a move which Moscow sees as vital to its economic reform programme. "India is our candidate number one in terms of enlarging representation in the Security Council," Putin said last week. A re-evaluation of trade policies concerning the defence, gas, oil and IT industries was also high on the agenda, with both countries signing bilateral trade agreements designed to further boost economic growth. Moscow estimates that bilateral trade, rose from $2.1 billion in 2002 to $3.3 billion in 2003. The new trade agreement comes after Russia helped India develop nuclear reactors, such as the Kudankulam nuclear power plant and expressed interest in working with Indian firms to open up oil and gas production. The two countries' trade in military hardware was also boosted when the Russian leader expressed his interest in producing a fifth generation fighter jet with India. Nevertheless, Moscow still may have concerns that New Delhi is edging closer to countries like France, the United States and Israel, with which India has also signed lucrative defence contracts. After a series of high-level talks in New Delhi on Saturday, India and Russia agreed to strengthen economic ties by creating a steering group to form a joint-government agreement on IT. This comes after Putin stressed that growing cooperation between the two countries' IT sectors was vital to fuel greater economic expansion. India, which has experienced rapid growth in its IT sector over the last decade, is in fact keen to export its expertise, while Russia wants to learn from India's success in the sector. However, economic analysts have warned India to be wary since Russia may become a competitor in the IT industry. This is because the former Soviet Union had boosted this sector by securing a tax cut on exports and establishing a nationwide IT centre, both of which led to considerable development in the country's IT industry. Putin, however, cautiously played down any threat Russia may pose to India's blossoming industry. "The youth are the future of both our countries and we should be prepared for a healthy and mutual competition," he said. The Indian IT sector, meanwhile, was keeping tight- lipped about future role of its cooperation with Russia.
