Rajnath Singh meets Russian counterpart ahead of first 2+2 ministerial dialogue in Delhi

Ahead of the first 2+2 ministerial dialogue between India and Russia on Monday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held discussions with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu today morning. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Defence Ministers spoke over political and defence issues of mutual interest.

Calling Defence cooperation an important pillar of the India-Russia strategic partnership, Rajnath Singh said that it is guided by the Programme for Military and Technical Cooperation signed between both countries. Further appreciating Russia’s support towards India, he said, “Our close cooperation is not targeted against any country. We hope that our partnership will bring peace and prosperity to the entire region.”   

The cooperation between both the countries enshrines the interest of the two governments to further develop and strengthen the military and technical cooperation in the sphere of research and development, production and after-sales support of armament systems and various military equipment.

Notably, the Defence ministers meet on an annual basis alternatively in Russia and India to discuss the status of the ongoing projects and other issues concerning military-technical cooperation. Following the meeting at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also tweeted a picture with the Russian Defence Minister General Sergey Shoigu. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi for the 21st India-Russia annual summit.

Before the summit, India and Russia will engage in their first 2+2 ministerial dialogue which will include discussions on several national, regional and international issues. During this while, both the Defence ministers along with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov will also participate.

Later, Putin will hold the summit with PM Modi and both the countries are likely to sign more than 10 agreements following their annual talks. 

Image: Twitter/@DefenceMinIndia