The Russian president also sought New Delhi's support for becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), besides stressing on greater ties between the financial sectors of the two countries to boost trade and investment.

"Issues relating to Russia's membership of WTO came up during our meeting," Manmohan Singh told media at a joint press conference with Putin after their bilateral talks at Hyderabad House here.

"We will fully support Russia's early entry into WTO and the conclusion of our ongoing negotiations in this regard," Singh added.

Putin is on a three-day visit to India, his third since 2000, and is accompanied by a 50-member business delegation, mainly from the energy and IT sectors.

The Russian president said he particularly supported better linkages between the two countries in the energy sector and investments by Indian entities in the oil exploration projects in his country and elsewhere.

Energy was expected to be high on Putin's agenda, particularly after Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's recent visit to Russia. Some projects being eyed by India include a stake in the Sakhalin-III oil and gas project.

India has invested $1.7 billion in the Sakhalin-I oil and gas project, its largest investment abroad, and is said to be considering another $1 billion investment in the Sakhalin-III project, the massive offshore project in the Pacific Ocean.

To coincide with the visit talks were also held on cooperation in thermal and nuclear energy, aviation, space exploration and investments and repayment of rupee debt by India, officials said.

The bulk of Putin's business engagements during his three-day visit are slated for India's unofficial tech capital, Bangalore, which he visits Saturday and Sunday.
 
There, he is scheduled to interact with captains of Indian industry at a joint meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, officials said.

He is also visiting the offices of IT bellwether Infosys, where he will take a buggy ride around the sprawling campus for a ringside view of its world-class facilities and may also visit the facilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

A 20-member delegation of the Russian Software Association (Russoft) is already in Bangalore under the aegis of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).

"To work with the Russians will be an exciting business opportunity for the resurgent Indian IT industry," said Kiran Karnik, president of Nasscom, ahead of Putin's visit to Bangalore.

"The interactive meetings will exchange ideas and assess the expertise of both the countries for future partnerships."

Officials said that efforts are also being made to boost bilateral trade between the two countries, which currently stands at a little over a billion dollars, compared with $12 billion between Russia and China.

"The main hurdle to pushing trade today is the rupee debt India owes to Russia," an official with an apex chamber here said. "Even today, a significant portion of Indian imports from Russia is financed through the debt payment route."

Accordingly, one of the issues being discussed by officials of the two countries is the repayment of the rupee debt by India, amounting to some Rs. 30 billion ($650 million) each year.

In banking, Russia has identified eight banks for forging linkages with Indian banks such as the State Bank of India, Canara Bank and ICICI Bank, officials said.

--Indo-Asian News Service