I am extremely pleased to welcome President Putin to India. His first State Visit is a milestone in Indo-Russian relations. It provides a major impetus to our bilateral relations at the beginning of the new millennium.

President Putin has an ambitious vision of a new Russia, and we wish him and his country well. As traditional friends, we wish to see Russia as a strong and confident state, an important constituent of a multi-polar world order.

The President and I signed the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between India and the Russian Federation. This is an important document, which sets out this shared aims and objectives of our two countries. We recognise the global role that our two countries have to play, and to build a better world for the 21st century. Copies of this document are available with you.

We have had a very substantive and meaningful discussion on the entire range of our ties. We exchanged views on a wide range of regional and international issues, noting the wide-ranging similarity of views based on mutuality of interests and shared perceptions.

Our discussions were held in the traditional atmosphere of warmth, mutual respect and understanding.

We have agreed on the importance of annual summits. President Putin has kindly extended to me an invitation to visit the Russian Federation at a mutually convenient time. I have accepted his invitation with pleasure.

We have noted that the level of bilateral trade does not correspond with the true potential. We have directed the Inter Governmental Commission to suggest new approaches and innovative ideas to expand and diversify our trade and economic cooperation.

To upgrade the nature of our defence interaction, we have agreed to establish an Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation. It will be headed on our side by Raksha Mantri George Fernandes, and by Deputy Prime Minister Klebanov on the Russian side.

Our cooperation in the area of peaceful uses of atomic energy and space is proceeding satisfactorily.

We discussed the proposed expansion of the United Nations Security Council, keeping in view the present global realities in order to make it more representative, and to increase its effectiveness. We welcome Russia's unqualified support for India’s candidature for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

The major challenges facing humankind in the new century are international terrorism, religious extremism, drug trafficking and trans-national crime. We recalled the Moscow Declaration on Protection of Interests of Pluralistic States of 1994, where both India and the Russian Federation reiterated their support for each other's territorial integrity as constituted by law and as enshrined in their respective Constitutions. We condemn the use of terrorism as an instrument of State policy.

I would like to wish President Putin and the members of his delegation a pleasant and memorable stay in India.