Russia's president calls on India

President Vladimir Putin of Russia may have been the man of the moment at India’s grandest annual parade, but there weren’t many fireworks when it came to talking business as both sides nudged each other to make more concessions in the road to renewing once tight ties.

Putin, who flew into New Delhi last week, was the guest of honor at the 58 th Republic Day Parade, where much of the military arsenal on display was Soviet-made, a reminder of the close defense and economic ties between the countries in the 1970s and 1980s.

Putin, 55, offered to build four nuclear reactors in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Russia is already building two reactors in India. But though both leaders shook hands on the issue, there’s not much that can be done until the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal is approved by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which regulates nuclear energy trade globally. The recent arrangement with the United States ended a longstanding ban on American exports of nuclear technology to India.

Putin's visit saw India and Russia sign a $250 million contract to jointly produce jet engines, a fraction of the billions of dollars totaled in military trade between the countries before India opened its doors to markets in the West, especially the United States.

Overall, a mere 0.7% of India’s exports went to Russia last year, worth $733.15 million, and 1.4% of its imports came from Russia--$2.02 billion’s worth, according to government figures.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledged the reduction in business ties. “Both of us agree that our economic relationship is far below what is consistent with the demands of our strong strategic partnership and the growth profiles,” he said Thursday.

Indian businessmen wanted Putin’s government to relax visa rules to help their ventures into lucrative Russian markets. But Putin said New Delhi should first limit illegal immigration into Europe.

India is also looking to Russia to help meet its growing energy needs. India's Oil and Natural Gas and the Russian state oil major Rosneft have agreed to jointly bid for exploration and refining projects in India, Russia and other nations. The firms are already partners in Russia's huge Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field. But Oil and Natural Gas is looking for a lot more.

Prime Minister Singh called energy security “the most important of the emerging dimensions of our strategic partnership.” And he made it a point to go to the airport to personally receive Putin—a courtesy that has so far been extended only to President George W. Bush of the United States and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.

This was Putin’s fourth visit to India since he became president, and it’s seen as an indication that despite the new warmth in ties between India and the U.S., Russia will get its share of the pie when India goes shopping globally for needs ranging from defense to energy.