NEW DELHI, Jan 25: Russian President Vladimir Putin promised energy-starved India nuclear reactors and power plants after arriving on Thursday on a mission to rejuvenate ties with Moscow’s cold war ally.

India, racing to secure new sources of fuel to sustain its booming economy, welcomed Russian moves to help “in the expansion of our nuclear sector,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after a signing ceremony.

“We appreciate Russian support,” said Mr Singh, after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in which Russia promised four more nuclear reactors for a flagship nuclear plant it is building in Kudankulam in southern Tamil Nadu — a state that already has two Russian 1,000MW reactors.

Nuclear energy security was emerging as the most important aspect of “our strategic partnership and we look forward to long-time partnership with Russia in this vital field,” Mr Singh remarked.

The symbolic highlight of Putin's two-day visit will come on Friday, when he is guest of honour at India's Republic Day celebrations — designed to show a close friendship still exists regardless of India's warming ties with the United States and other Western governments.

Hailing Mr Putin as a “special friend of India”, Mr Singh said that though there has been a change in the international situation during the last decade, Russia “remains indispensable to the core of India's foreign policy interests.” Moscow has said relations with India form “one of Russia's main foreign policy priorities.”

After touching down at an air force base outside New Delhi early on Thursday, Mr Putin was whisked off for a hectic day of talks with Mr Singh, ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, Oil Minister Murli Deora and Indian business leaders.

Aside from more reactors, Mr Putin, on his fourth visit to India since becoming president, promised Russian help in building nuclear energy stations in India.

The passage last year of a landmark US-Indian deal allowing New Delhi access to civilian nuclear technology after decades of isolation has unleashed an international race to supply to the Indian civilian nuclear energy market.

The United States, France and other nations have also been jostling for a slice of the action, though any contracts must await the approval of dealings with India by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which regulates global nuclear energy trade.

Separately Mr Putin and Mr Singh called for a “weapons free outer space”, after China staged a satellite-destroying weapons test earlier this month. “Outer space should be absolutely weapons free,” Mr Putin said. India's prime minister said New Delhi also opposed “the weaponisation of outer space.”

China confirmed on Tuesday it had tested a satellite-destroying weapon but insisted its space programme posed no threat. Despite both Russia and India forecasting major defence deals, the visit has so far seen only a $250 million deal for joint production of fighter jet engines.

However, India's state-run Oil Natural Gas Corp and Russia's Rosneft Oil Co sealed a deal to jointly bid for exploration and refining projects in India, Russia and other countries.

Mr Putin also assured his support for ONGC taking a 20 per cent stake in Sakhalin-III project in far-east Russia, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

ONGC has been lobbying furiously for such a deal.—AFP