"Good news about cooperation": Roscosmos chief signals India-Russia space partnership

New Delhi [India], December 3 (ANI): Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov told Izvestia that Russia is preparing to announce "good news about cooperation in the space sector with India," saying a formal development is expected "literally the day after tomorrow."
Bakanov said the upcoming announcement would cover multiple joint areas. "The main areas include engine construction, crewed spaceflight, and collaboration on the development of our national orbital stations. These also include areas related to personnel training and rocket fuel," he told the Russian outlet.
When asked about which side would be sharing expertise, Bakanov said Russia would enter the agreement from a position of technological strength. "When it comes to engines, of course, the advanced technologies are ours -- Russian -- as well as in orbital space," he said.
Bakanov added that the partnership would not involve the transfer of Russian technology. "Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that we are 'sharing'. We are not sharing anything; we are planning mutually beneficial cooperation, and legally significant steps will be taken the day after tomorrow," he told Izvestia, noting that further details would be made public after the official event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow aims to "elevate cooperation" with India by taking the partnership to a "qualitatively new level" and establishing "substantive dialogue" on economic matters ahead of his two-day visit to New Delhi from December 4-5 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing an investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin said the objective of ongoing joint initiatives across multiple sectors is to boost ties with India. "We aim to elevate cooperation with the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India to a qualitatively new level by strengthening its technological component. This is the objective of numerous joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture, and other sectors," he said.
Putin noted that Moscow maintains an ongoing channel of "substantive dialogue" with Chinese President Xi Jinping on economic issues and wants to continue similar discussions with the Indian leadership. "We have established a substantive dialogue on economic issues with the President of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping. We will also discuss these topics in detail during the upcoming visit to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including increasing imports of Indian goods to our market," he added. 
Together, the comments from the Roscosmos chief and the Russian President highlight anticipated advancements in space cooperation and broader strategic ties, with upcoming high-level engagements expected to formalise multiple projects across sectors. (ANI)