Russia in Major Deals with Germany's Siemans

In a move to modernize the Russian economy, President Dmitry Medvedev is looking to German engineering giant Siemens.

Partnering with Siemens will be Russian Railways, which they'll work together on 22 railway switching yards throughout the country, and together produce 240 regional trains.

Siemens also landed a wind power deal where they'll install wind turbines in Russia as well.

Most products will be manufactured in Russia, Siemens said.

The deals for Siemens are reportedly worth about $2.8 billion.

Russia and India Sign Agreement to Work Closer Together Economically

In an attempt to work closer together after years of cool relations, Russia and India signed a pact concerning economic trade and cooperation.

A major deal involved building of nuclear reactors by Russia for India to use for energy.

“The signing of the agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with Russia marks a new milestone in the history of our cooperation in the field of nuclear energy,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi after talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The two countries have a goal of increasing trade to about $10 billion by 2010, while working on improving relations that have been strained since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In reference to military related items, the two countries signed deals for the sale of 80 helicopters to India, worth over $1 billion according to the state arms selling agent and CEO of Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, said he hopes to extend the accord to 10 years, while working with India to develop and produce missiles and aircraft jointly.

Other partnerships would include working together on metals, space, machine building, pharmaceuticals, nuclear powered submarines, biotechnology and information technology.

BRIC TV: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Russia, Italy Forge Nuclear Power Agreement

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi came to an agreement to help rebuild the Italian nuclear industry today. Berlusconi came to power partly because of riding the nuclear platform.

The nuclear deal will entail working on thrid and fourth-generation reactors, said Rosatom head Sergei Kiriyenko. Kiriyenko added that while Italy still has some expertise, they've lost some of it since dropping a nuclear program in 1986 after the Chernobyl incident.

Berlusconi is looking to the industry to make Italy into a major nuclear power in the European Union.

In other agreements between the two countries, Russian automaker Sollers agreed to manufacture low-cost cars from Fiat in Russia; Italian tire maker Pirelli will produce tires in Samara in cooperation with Russian Technologies; and Finmeccanica, an Italian aerospace and defense company will work with a number of Russian state-controlled companies in a variety of deals, including the Russian rail sector.

A 1.35 billion euro deal between LUKoil and Italian refiner ERG will give Russia a presence in the European refining business.

In a side note, Berlusconi made a statement about U.S. president-elect Barack Obama that caused a stir.

Talking of Russian president Medvedev, he said he shouldn't have any problems working with Obama, as he is "also handsome, young and even suntanned."

When the Obama-loving mainstream media got hold of it and attacked Berlusconi for the comment, he fired back saying they were faulty of "not having a sense of humor."