Putin, Modi launch phase two of the Kudankulam NPP, sign military & economic deals
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President
Vladimir Putin have launched the second phase of the Kudankulam Nuclear
Power Plant and signed a number of agreements regarding military and
economic cooperation at BRICS summit in Goa.
Putin and Modi officially
launched the second phase of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP),
currently being built in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu by Rosatom as
part of a deal signed between Moscow and New Delhi back in 1998, RIA
Novosti news agency reported.The two heads of state also laid the foundation stones for the third and fourth blocks of the Kudankulam via a video conference following bilateral talks on Saturday. The first unit was already put into operation in August this year. Earlier this week, President Putin said the operation of the first and second units at their rated capacity will “significantly increase the energy supply in India and strengthen its energy security.”
READ MORE: Russia to develop India’s nuclear power industry
According to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, agreements were reached on three highly important documents, including the S-400 delivery to India.
“S-400 it is our newest system. We are currently equipping our own military forces with it and we are making an exception only for our closest allies, such as India and China.
The fact that we have reached agreements with both India and China [regarding S-400 delivery] shows a lot. It shows that Russia exports its most advanced technologies to the countries it trusts, with which it is building strategic partnerships,” he stressed, mentioning Russia’s agreement on S-400 exports with China, the first foreign buyer of the system. That deal was announced in the spring of 2015. According to media reports, the transaction amounted to about $3 billion.