Russia has signed an agreement with India to build up to 16 nuclear reactors for power stations. In striking this deal, Asia’s third largest economy is reaffirming old cold war ties.

During his one day visit to India, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also pledged to boost banking and technology cooperation between the two countries.

Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, said:
“The outcomes of Prime Minister Putin’s visit are rich and substantive. There’s much that India and Russia can do together to advance global peace and stability and a process of global economic revival.”

Russia has been competing with French and American firms for these lucrative nuclear contracts and Putin is hoping to double the amount of trade with India in the next five years.

The two nations are keenly interested in stabilising the region, due to the shared threat of Islamist militant violence and the war in Afghanistan.

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