External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow during his visit to Russia, with discussions expected to focus on strengthening bilateral economic and strategic cooperation.
Jaishankar was warmly received by Putin during the meeting. He had arrived in Moscow on Sunday and was welcomed by Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar and Russian Foreign Ministry official Aleksandr Kozlov.
Beginning the meeting, Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to Putin and handed over a personal communication from the Indian leader.
“Let me begin by conveying the good wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Jaishankar said, adding that the two countries had a positive report to present following a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission.
The External Affairs Minister highlighted the growth in India-Russia economic cooperation across areas including trade, energy, fertilisers and nuclear cooperation.
Jaishankar also said Modi looked forward to meeting Putin at the SCO Summit and welcoming him to India for the BRICS Summit. He added that the two leaders would hold their annual summit at a mutually convenient time.
Earlier, Jaishankar stressed that progress on market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, stronger payment mechanisms and increased business-to-business engagement would be critical to expanding bilateral trade.
Putin, meanwhile, asked Jaishankar to convey his best regards to Prime Minister Modi at the beginning of their conversation.
Jaishankar’s Moscow visit includes discussions on trade and economic cooperation, as well as a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
