BRICS Summit: PM Modi, Putin review India-Russia bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday reviewed the progress made in the bilateral relationship between India and Russia since the former's visit to Vladivostok in September.

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Bilateral talks

During the bilateral meeting with the Russian President on the margins of the 11th BRICS summit, PM Modi decided that the first Bilateral Regional Forum at the level of Russian Provinces and the Indian States should be held next year to dismantle the barriers of trade at the regional level, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The two leaders noted with satisfaction that the USD 25 billion targets of bilateral trade by 2025 has already been achieved, it read.

"I had an excellent meeting with President Putin. During our talks, we reviewed the full range of India-Russia relations. India and Russia are cooperating extensively in areas such as trade, security, and culture. People of our nations will benefit due to close bilateral ties," the Prime Minister said.

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During the meeting, the two leaders also discussed the stability and progress made in imports of oil and natural gas. Putin highlighted the potential of the Arctic region in natural gas and invited India to invest in the region, the statement said. The two leaders also reviewed the progress made in the field of infrastructure particularly railways in the context of raising the speed of the Nagpur-Secunderabad sector railway line.

The leaders also noted with satisfaction the cooperation in the defence sector and in the field of civil nuclear energy. According to the statement, they welcomed the prospects of cooperation in civil nuclear energy in third countries. The two leaders also noted that both sides shared common positions on international issues and agreed to continue close consultations in the future, the statement added.

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The two leaders met over two months after holding extensive talks in Russia's Far East city of Vladivostok on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) wherein India had announced an "unprecedented" USD 1 billion line of credit to develop the country's resource-rich far east region.

Meanwhile, the Russian President reiterated the invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Moscow to participate in the Victory Day celebrations next year, which PM Modi gladly accepted. In addition, the Prime Minister also held extensive talks with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

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(with ANI inputs)