New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS): India Thursday formally announced that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will go on a three-day visit to Moscow Dec 15-17 for a summit meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, apart from meeting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

During the visit, India and Russia are slated to focus on expanding their growing ties in the field of nuclear energy, defence and economic cooperation and are likely to sign over half-a-dozen agreements in these sectors.

"Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh will pay an official visit to Moscow from December 15 to 17, 2011, at the invitation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the annual bilateral Indo-Russian summit," a statement from the Indian ministry of external affairs said here.

"During his visit, the prime minister will hold talks with President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, in addition to other engagements," the release added.

The two countries are inching closer to signing a deal on units III and IV of the Koodankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu, where local fisherfolk are on a protest citing safety concerns of the plant following the Japanese Fukushima nuclear complex disaster in the wake of an earthquake and Tsunami in Western Pacific earlier this year.

The two sides are also likely to discuss the ongoing defence projects such as the leasing of the Russia nuclear-powered submarine to Indian Navy for 10 years beginning 2012, joint development of the fifth generation fighter aircraft and multirole transport aircraft, and refit of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier the is to be delivered to Indian Navy in December 2012.

They will also discuss means to achieve the target of $20 billion annual bilateral trade, which now hovers at $10 billion, before 2015.