Boris Shmelyov, Director of Center for Comparative Political Analysis of Institute of International Economic and Political Studies of RAS

– Russia is paving the way for future projects

Russia and India have signed an agreement for the construction of four more reactors at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and for cooperation at other sites. The agreement was signed in New Delhi during the official visit of President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev to India.

Nuclear energy is one of the key directions of Russian-Indian cooperation. Russia has already built several nuclear facilities in that country and now the parties have signed an agreement for construction of new nuclear reactors.

This is a big success for Russia. Such big projects are usually signed by states, even big companies are unable to secure such contracts on their own. There is big competition on the high-tech market: India has agreements with the US in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy. But even under such conditions Russia has managed to conquer part of this market. Now Russia will be able to take an active part in the industrialization of India, to use its personnel and to earn money as this is a commercial project. NPP is a project that strengthens the positions of the country that builds it in another state. Russia is paving the way for future projects. This is a crucial step in the development of Russian-Indian cooperation.