Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar discussed the economic and strategic aspects of Russia-India relations at the Kremlin. The meeting took place on Monday, August 24, with Jaishankar also attending as the Indian co-chair of the Russia-India Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation.
Putin described Jaishankar’s visit as evidence of the level of relations built between the two countries over decades. He said contacts among the governments, parliaments and economic actors of the two countries were continuing across various fields.
Trade growth and expectations of a new meeting with Modi
The Russian president said the volume of trade between Russia and India had begun rising again this year after declining last year. Putin said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal attention to bilateral relations had contributed to this result and conveyed his best wishes to Modi.
Putin also said he hoped to meet Modi soon במסגרת the work of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. He said the two leaders could meet again during the year if their schedules allowed.
Nuclear energy, high technology and fertilizer shipments
Putin said progress had been made in nuclear energy, high technology and other related areas, noting that these issues were among the important items on the agenda.
Putin said Jaishankar had also met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Russian co-chair of the commission Denis Manturov, adding that fertilizer supplies, alongside energy resources, were among the priority issues.
Putin said Russia was working to resolve fertilizer supply issues for farmers and the agricultural sector in India. He announced that shipments had been increased and that Russia was ready to continue the practice.
Jaishankar highlights economic growth
During the meeting, Jaishankar conveyed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to Putin. The Indian foreign minister said a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission had been held earlier in the day.
Jaishankar said they had prepared a comprehensive report on economic cooperation, nuclear energy and fertilizer supplies as part of the commission’s work, adding that economic cooperation between the two countries had grown significantly.
Jaishankar said Modi expected to meet Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. He added that the Indian prime minister also hoped Putin would attend the BRICS summit and that the annual summit would be held.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maksim Oreshkin and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov also attended the meeting. The Indian delegation included India’s ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, and Mayank Singh, director of the Eurasia Division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
