India, Russia sign 16 agreements

Reacting to Modi’s surprise stopover in Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who is celebrating his 66th birthday today, the hardline Hurriyat leader said, “We hope that Pakistan will also remain steadfast on its stand on Kashmir issue”.

The visit occurred after Modi called Sharif to express his desire to make a stop in Pakistan, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told reporters in Lahore. They said that the deal was signed as a part of Modi government’s plan to modernise the Indian defences especially against airborne attacks.

“You see one can always feel sad and upset about lot of things that the Prime Minister or anybody is doing, but I think we should also feel happy for lot of things that are happening but unfortunately the Prime Minister has become target of anything that happens in this country”.

“It is imperative that people of both the countries welcome this development”, Kulkarni, who visited Pakistan after Kasuri’s Mumbai visit, said. He stated he additionally referred to as Sharif & wished him completely pleased birthday.Sharif’s sprawling residence had been colorfully adorned for his granddaughter’s wedding reception when Modi arrived together with the Pakistani prime minister.

Modi’s predecessor, Manmohan Singh, did not visit Pakistan during his two terms that ended in 2014.

To ensure deeper economic engagement, India is pushing for a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Zone and is sharing with Russian Federation details of a study it conducted in this regard.

The 16th India-Russia Summit at the Kremlin began with a restricted meeting between the two leaders after which Modi and Putin were joined by their respective delegations. And according to his itinerary, Modi was to reach India today after his trip to Russian Federation and Afghanistan.

The first visit by an Indian premier in almost 12 years marked another step forward by the two countries in their efforts to put on an even keel their ties which were going through a chill until recently. Rejecting Swaraj’s claim that the visit was spontaneous, Sharma said “the External Affairs Minister claims, very foolishly so, that it’s statesman-like”. After her talks with Pakistan, she said both sides agreed to resume talks on several topics.

Sharif, who attended Modi’s inauguration as prime minister previous year, invited his Indian counterpart to Pakistan when they met in Russian Federation in July.

“The PM has taken a courageous step”.

Modi had earlier made the surprise announcement to visit Sharif on Twitter as he wound up his visit to Afghanistan with an address to the Afghan parliament.

In the presence of visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reliance Defence Limited of India and Russian weapons maker Almaz-Antey signed a manufacturing and maintenance deal worth United States dollars 6 billion.

In 2011, the two countries agreed to return to the negotiating table, and since then, relations have continued to thaw.