General
12h ago EN
Modi-Putin Bishkek meeting confirmed as Jaishankar meets Russian President in Moscow
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed during his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on Monday. Jaishankar met the Russian President as part of his two-day official visit to Moscow from August 23 to 24, adding another high-level engagement to the packed India-Russia diplomatic calendar. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks forward to the meeting at the SCO summit and also hopes that you will have the opportunity to come to the BRICS summit and hold this annual summit," Jaishankar told Putin. The remarks confirm that Modi and Putin will hold talks during the SCO gathering in the Kyrgyz capital. The SCO Council of Heads of State meeting is scheduled in Bishkek on September 1. The upcoming Modi-Putin meeting is expected to provide the two leaders an opportunity to review bilateral ties and exchange views on major regional and global developments at a time of continuing geopolitical uncertainty. Jaishankar's Kremlin meeting came during an official visit undertaken at the invitation of Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. A key component of the visit is the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), which Jaishankar is co-chairing with Manturov. The mechanism oversees a broad range of economic cooperation between the two countries, including trade, energy, science, technology and cultural exchanges. Jaishankar is also scheduled to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and exchange views on bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues. India and Russia have maintained a longstanding strategic partnership covering defence, energy, nuclear cooperation, space, trade, science and technology. The two countries formally established their Strategic Partnership in 2000, and their relationship has since expanded through several institutional mechanisms, including the annual summit between their leaders and the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission. The confirmation of the Bishkek meeting assumes added significance as it sets the stage for direct talks between Modi and Putin before another possible high-level engagement if the Russian President visits India for the BRICS summit and the annual India-Russia summit.