PM:When PM Vajpayee held Moscow Summit in 2001 I was there 2 sign sister-state agreement between Gujarat & Astrakhan pic.twitter.com/feBayTa7UA — Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) December 11, 2014

NEW DELHI: In a major boost to India's defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a joint statement with Vladimir Putin a on Thursday said that Russia has offered to fully manufacture in India one of its most advanced helicopters "Russia has been India's foremost defence partner through decades. Even as India's options have increased today, Russia will remain our most important defence partner," PM Modi said. "We have conducted joint exercises across all three wings of the Armed Forces in the last six months," he added.Modi said that he discussed a broad range of new defence projects with Putin. "I am pleased that Russia has offered to fully manufacture in India one of its most advanced helicopters. It includes the possibility of exports from India. It can be used for both military and civilian use. We will follow up on this quickly," Modi said. "We also discussed how to align our defence relations to India's own priorities, including Make in India," he added.Modi also proposed that Russia should locate manufacturing facilities in India for spares and components for Russian defence equipment in India.Noting that Russia has been India's foremost defence partner through decades, Modi said his first visit outside Delhi as Prime Minister was to new aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya - a ship bought from Russia."It sails our seas as a great symbol of our defence cooperation. Even as India's options have increased today, Russia will remain our most important defence partner," Modi said in his statement to the media after holding meeting with Putin.In yet another major announcement, Russia has agreed to supply nuclear reactors to India. "Today, we have outlined an ambitious vision for nuclear energy of at least ten more reactors. It will have the highest standards of safety in the world. It will also include manufacture of equipment and components in India. This also supports our Make in India policy," Modi said."Energy security is critical for India's economic development and creating jobs for our youth. Russia is also a key partner in this area," he said. "I am pleased that the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is on stream. It has added 20% to the existing capacity for nuclear power in India. We are on course for installing the next three units of 1000 MW each," Modi added.Modi said, "The steadfast support of the people of Russia for India has been there even at difficult moments in our history. It has been a pillar of strength for India's development, security and international relations. India, too, has always stood with Russia through its own challenges.""The character of global politics and international relations is changing. However, the importance of this relationship and its unique place in India's foreign policy will not change. In many ways, its significance to both countries will grow further in the future," he added.In a joint statement released post Putin-Modi meeting, the two leaders said defence cooperation between India and Russia is founded on deep mutual trust and promotes wider peace and security."The two countries have already moved to a phase of joint design and development of defence systems. The sides recognize the virtually unlimited opportunities for enhancing this cooperation," the statement said.(With inputs from PTI)