Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives here Friday for the annual summit with India and a three-day visit that will look at new avenues of cooperation between the two countries in energy and IT, moving away from their strong defence-oriented relationship.
The two countries, which see themselves as "strategic partners", will seek to give more economic substance to their strong political ties and their concentration on defence cooperation.
Russia accounts for nearly 70 percent of the hardware used by Indian defence forces, though that is beginning to change with Israel and South Africa making inroads into what has been a Russian monopoly and even the US showing interest in the lucrative Indian market.
Indian officials said oil and gas majors of the two countries were expected to sign four memorandums of understanding (MoU) during Putin's visit, during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders and travel to Bangalore, the hub of India's IT industry.
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and Indian Oil Corporation will discuss cooperation with Russian energy majors like Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft and Zarubezhneft to explore investment and other opportunities in each other's country.
The MoUs would seek to promote larger Indian investments in Russia's oil and gas industry and bigger participation by Russian companies in India's energy sector, particularly in the field of oil and gas, officials said.
Gazprom is currently developing block No 26 in the Bay of Bengal and is likely get more blocks for gas exploration there.
India has invested $1.7 billion in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, its largest investment abroad, and is said to be considering an additional $1 billion investment in the Sakhalin-3 project, the massive offshore project in the Pacific Ocean.
India sees Russia as an alternative source for its energy requirements, particularly in the context of the political instability in the Middle East, its main source at present, and is looking at investment opportunities in the East Siberian oil fields.
Officials said Putin has shown a keen interest in India's emergence as an "IT superpower" and will visit Bangalore to see for himself the IT companies operating from the city.
He will visit the offices of IT bellwether Infosys and interact with top IT executives.
The Russian president will also meet captains of Indian industry at a joint meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as well as visit Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Officials said the two countries will sign two political documents - a joint declaration and a joint statement outlining their approach to major international and regional issues, besides seven documents on cooperation including on banking, finance and intellectual property rights with a view to enhancing trade and economic ties.
Ahead of Putin's visit, senior defence officials of the two countries will meet under the aegis of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Cooperation here Wednesday and Friday.
The meeting, which will finalise the defence agenda for the summit, will be co-chaired by the defence ministers of the two countries - Pranab Mukherjee and Sergei Ivanov.
The two sides will also discuss an agreement on the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) that Moscow feels is proving to be an obstacle to further strengthening cooperation in joint weapons production and a fifth generation military aircraft.
--Indo-Asian News Service