NEW DELHI, Dec 4: President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in India on Thursday for a visit expected to see Russia agree to build new nuclear reactors in the country and show solidarity with its ally after the Mumbai attacks.

A cornerstone of his trip to New Delhi is set to be the signing of a new accord for Russia to build four new nuclear reactors to generate energy in southern India.

Defence ties will also be discussed in the two-day visit, with Moscow keen to retain its position as India’s main supplier of weaponry amid increasing competition from the United States and Israel.

But the trip has been overshadowed by the Mumbai attacks. The Russian leader, whose visit was planned well before the bloodbath, is the first foreign head of state to visit the country after the bloodshed in Mumbai.

“The highest attention will be given to the question of the widest cooperation in the fight against terrorism, both on a bilateral level and with other powers,” the Interfax news agency quoted presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko as saying ahead of the talks.

Medvedev touched down in New Delhi in the evening where he had dinner with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before a full programme of high-level talks on Friday, officials said.

The main streets of central Delhi have been festooned with Russian flags to welcome Medvedev but the visit is taking place under the tightest security with a visible police presence.

The two sides are expected on Friday to ink a deal for Russia to build four more nuclear reactors in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in the latest sign of burgeoning ties.

Moscow is already building two 1,000-megawatt light water nuclear reactors at Kudankulam and can now construct more after a group of nuclear supplier states in September lifted a ban on India shopping for nuclear technology.

Energy-hungry India has signed nuclear cooperation pacts with France and the United States since the ban was lifted but Russia until now has been the only foreign state in the Indian nuclear industry.

“We think that during my visit this area will make its biggest progress yet,” Medvedev said in an interview with Indian state television channel Doordarshan, a transcript of which was released by the Kremlin.

He is also set to sign a range of bilateral accords on cooperation in areas including space exploration, financial markets and tourism, Prikhodko said.—AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Failed martial law
Updated 05 Dec, 2024

Failed martial law

EVIDENTLY, freedom has its consequences: after transitioning to a democratic system of governance in the late 1980s,...
Holding the key
05 Dec, 2024

Holding the key

IN the view of one learned judge of the Supreme Court’s recently formed constitutional bench, parliament holds the...
New low
05 Dec, 2024

New low

WHERE does one go from here? In the latest blow to women’s rights in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime has barred...
Online oppression
Updated 04 Dec, 2024

Online oppression

Plan to bring changes to Peca is simply another attempt to suffocate dissent. It shows how the state continues to prioritise control over real cybersecurity concerns.
The right call
04 Dec, 2024

The right call

AMIDST the ongoing tussle between the federal government and the main opposition party, several critical issues...
Acting cautiously
04 Dec, 2024

Acting cautiously

IT appears too big a temptation to ignore. The wider expectations for a steeper reduction in the borrowing costs...