Jaishankar heads to Russia for key trade talks, Lavrov meeting
Jaishankar heads to Russia. (Image courtesy: X/@DrSJaishankar)
New Delhi: The external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, will visit Russia on August 23-24 for high-level discussions on bilateral economic cooperation and major regional and global developments. The visit will also see Jaishankar co-chair the 27th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday that Jaishankar is visiting Russia at the invitation of first deputy prime minister, Denis Manturov, who will co-chair the IRIGC-TEC meeting with him. The talks are expected to review progress in bilateral trade and economic cooperation while exploring opportunities for deeper engagement in areas such as investment, technology and other sectors.
Jaishankar is also scheduled to meet his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for talks on regional and global issues. The meeting will provide the two sides an opportunity to exchange assessments on key international developments and discuss matters of mutual interest.
The visit comes as India and Russia continue to maintain close diplomatic and strategic engagement despite changes in the wider geopolitical environment. Their partnership has expanded beyond defence and security to include trade, energy, science and technology, culture and people-to-people ties.
The IRIGC provides an institutional framework for managing different aspects of the bilateral relationship. Its economic and civilian cooperation track is led by Jaishankar and Manturov, while the separate IRIGC mechanism for military and military-technical cooperation is headed by the defence ministers of the two countries.
Jaishankar’s Moscow visit will therefore combine an economic review with political consultations, highlighting New Delhi’s effort to sustain its long-standing partnership with Moscow while expanding cooperation into newer areas.
Jaishankar and Lavrov had last met in New Delhi in May, ahead of the BRICS summit. During the meeting, the two ministers reviewed the India-Russia partnership.
Jaishankar had described the interaction as productive and stressed that political cooperation between the two countries was particularly valuable amid an uncertain and volatile global environment. The upcoming meeting in Moscow will provide the two sides another opportunity to review bilateral ties and exchange views on key international developments.
