India, Russia boost ties with 11 agreements

NEW DELHI - India and Russia Tuesday signed 11 agreements, boosting ties in areas like science, the peaceful use of nuclear energy, culture and pharmaceuticals, but a key defence pact on the joint production of a fifth generation fighter aircraft was not announced.

The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived in India on a two-day visit shortly after midnight Monday.

Relations between the two countries have blossomed in recent years, with India becoming one of the biggest importers of Russian military hardware.

In 2009, Russia-India trade reached the $7.5 billion mark. The countries plan to raise the figure to $20 billion by 2015.