NEW DELHI: Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to review bilateral relations and explore ways to expand cooperation in key sectors including trade, investment, energy and fertilisers.
Manturov, who is on a two day visit to India, also held separate discussions with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The meetings took place amid rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia, adding strategic significance to the visit.
During the interaction, Manturov briefed the Prime Minister on progress in several areas of partnership between the two countries. These included economic cooperation, trade expansion, connectivity initiatives and people to people exchanges aimed at strengthening long standing ties between India and Russia.
Prime Minister Modi also recalled the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India in December for the 23rd India Russia Annual Summit. He expressed satisfaction over the progress made in implementing the decisions taken during that meeting and conveyed greetings to the Russian President while expressing hope for continued high level engagements between the two nations.
The discussions placed strong emphasis on enhancing economic cooperation and boosting trade. Both sides are working towards a long term goal of significantly increasing bilateral trade and expanding collaboration in sectors such as energy, industrial development and investment.
Security and defence cooperation also figured in the talks. Manturov’s visit comes shortly after India cleared the procurement of an additional batch of S 400 air defence missile system from Russia. India had earlier signed a major agreement with Russia in 2018 to acquire the advanced missile defence system, with several units already delivered.
The leaders also exchanged views on the evolving situation in West Asia and its possible impact on the global economy, particularly in the energy sector.
India and Russia have been working on a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen economic ties, with both countries aiming to increase bilateral trade to 100 billion US dollars by 2030 through deeper cooperation across multiple sectors.
