Russia and the United States are helping India open the door to civil nuclear energy, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh stated on Thursday.
"Russia is helping us within the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Recently, the NSG held its meeting in Vienna, where Russia and US helped us," he told media persons.
India, Russia discuss bilateral ties
However, he refused to give details of the discussion on the issue with his Russian counterparts.
He said while Indian participation in the Sakhalin-1 project demonstrated the joint capabilities and mutuality of interests, India was fully prepared with its technical and financial resources to expand its presence in the Russian energy sector.
"We hope that energy cooperation would emerge as a strong pillar of our strategic partnership," Natwar said, pointing out that Russia was one of the largest producers of oil and gas, and that India was a rapidly growing energy market.
We want better N-cooperation: India
Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to Moscow Kanwal Sibal said several agreements would be signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit in December.
These include agreements on intellectual property rights, defence cooperation, utilization of rupee debt, fight against drug trafficking, Russia's entry into the World Trade Organisation, facilitating visa to Indian businessmen, and mutual aid in natural disasters.
Sibal said the two countries also hope to sign an agreement on a joint study group on comprehensive cooperation to strengthen bilateral relations in the areas of economy, trade and investment.
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