Manmohan Singh tells Putin first Kudankulam nuke reactor will be operationalised next month

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met on the sidelines of the Fifth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit here, and have discussed a wide range of issues related to bilateral strategic ties.

According to media reports, Prime Minister Singh has told President Putin that the first nuclear reactor unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu will become operational next month, and that the third and fourth reactors will be operationalized in due course after securing internal approvals.

The Kudamkulam nuclear plant is being implemented jointly by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited and Russia’s main nuclear company Atomstroyexport.

Meanwhile, the Fifth BRICS Summit has opened in Durban, South Africa.

This is the first time the meeting has been held on the African continent.

Heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have attended the opening ceremony of the five-nation BRICS summit for emerging market powers.

According to Xinhua News and Pravda, the organizers have also invited the leaders of the African Union and 15 African heads of state and government to participate.

The theme of the two-day summit is, “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Integration and Industrialization”.

The chairs from all of Africa’s economic blocs as well as the head of the New Partnership for African Development program will participate in the BRICS Leaders-Africa Dialogue Forum on Wednesday under the auspices of the African Union.

They will join presidents Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Xi Jinping of China, Vladmir Putin of Russia, Dilma Roussef of Brazil, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India.

The BRICS leaders are expected to endorse an agreement made earlier by their finance ministers to establish a BRICS development bank, which will finance infrastructure development within the five emerging economies. (ANI)

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