The agreement was signed by the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, and the visiting Croatian Foreign Minister, Mr. Tonino Picula, at a function here today. 

The agreement with Croatia is the 43rd such agreement signed by India. 

It shall come into force on the thirtieth day after both Governments have notified each other the fulfilment of the Constitutional requirements and shall remain in force for a period of 10 years and may thereafter continue unless either Government gives one year's written notice of its intention to terminate the agreement. 
 
 
 
 
 

Ivanov's statements were contrary to expectations that Russia would react adversely to India's embrace of Bush's missile-based nuclear doctrine. Along with a press conference he had held about Bush's plan just before leaving for India, his statements indicate Moscow has taken note that Bush had stated Russia was not a strategic adversary of the US. 

Prior to his meeting with Singh, Ivanov had called on Prime Minister Vajpayee and gave him a letter from President Vladimir Putin, which proposed specific steps to improve bilateral co-operation. Russia has welcomed a greater participation by India in its economic recovery and hopes for more joint ventures. A summit level meeting was proposed for November in Moscow and India confirmed that Vajpayee would be accepting the offer. 

On the question of a New Delhi-Moscow-Beijing axis, the two foreign ministers said the idea harked back to cold war-era formations which were no longer desirable. Ivanov said all three countries were working with each other on a bilateral basis.