External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar departed for Russia on Tuesday for a three-day official visit aimed at reinforcing the longstanding India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs announced. The trip, scheduled from August 19 to 21, comes at the invitation of Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
During his visit, Jaishankar will co-chair the 26th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on August 20. He is also expected to address the India-Russia Business Forum in Moscow, bringing together stakeholders to further trade and economic engagement.
The EAM will also meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to review the entire spectrum of bilateral ties, as well as to exchange views on pressing regional and international issues. “The visit aims to further strengthen the longstanding and time-tested India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” the MEA stated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the upcoming talks, noting that Lavrov and Jaishankar will meet in Moscow on August 21 to discuss major bilateral issues and avenues for collaboration within global forums.
This visit follows NSA Ajit Doval’s recent trip to Moscow, where he met President Vladimir Putin, Deputy PM Manturov, and Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu. It also comes soon after Jaishankar and Lavrov engaged at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ meeting in July and at the BRICS Summit last month, where discussions touched on West Asia, BRICS initiatives, and bilateral cooperation.
Earlier this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also traveled to Moscow for consultations with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, where both sides assessed bilateral relations and regional developments.
The latest round of discussions will take stock of progress made since the 22nd Annual Summit in Moscow in July 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Putin in Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, and the 25th IRIGC-TEC session held in New Delhi last November. At that time, Jaishankar and Manturov co-chaired the dialogue, focusing on trade, scientific, and cultural collaboration.
Looking ahead, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India following an invitation from Prime Minister Modi, as part of the annual tradition of high-level summits between the two nations.
