Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India on December 6 for the annual bilateral summit, according to Arindam Bagchi, the official spokeswoman for the Ministry of External Affairs.
‘2+2’ Ministerial Meeting
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu will visit India on December 6 for the first ‘2+2’ ministerial meeting between the two nations, according to the Russian embassy.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also meet with Lavrov and Shoigu.
Putin will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a summit meeting. The Modi-Putin summit is expected to yield concrete results in terms of strengthening defence, trade, and energy ties.
Agreements
The two sides are expected to finalise a number of agreements at the summit, including in the fields of defence, trade and investment, and science and technology.
At the summit, a framework for military-technical cooperation will be reinforced for the next decade, as well as a joint committee on technology and science.
A logistics support agreement between India and Russia has also entered the last stages of discussion, and it is expected to be signed either during the two-plus-two meetings or at the summit.
The agreement will allow the forces of the two countries to use each other’s bases for maintenance and supply replenishment, as well as facilitate the expansion of overall defence cooperation.
“On December 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov together with Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu will hold talks in New Delhi with their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh,” according to an embassy official. The ministers are expected to conduct in-depth discussions on significant regional and international problems, such as the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and events in Afghanistan and Syria, according to him.
According to the spokeswoman, the two sides will also discuss cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral.
“In future, consultations in this format are intended to be organised on a regular basis, alternately in Russia and India,” the official stated.
The ‘2+2’ ministerial format of dialogue is used by India with just a few countries, including the United States, Japan, and Australia.
Last year’s summit was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Both nations have a framework in place where the prime minister of India and the president of Russia meet once a year to discuss their complete range of ties. Until far, 20 Annual Summit meetings have alternated between India and Russia.
