Foreign secretary Vikram Misri to visit Russia this week in boost for ties

Besides holding the annual foreign office consultations with his Russian counterpart, Vikram Misri is expected to meet members of the top Russian leadership

New Delhi: Foreign secretary Vikram Misri is set to visit Russia on March 7 for the annual foreign office consultations between the two countries to review the overall relationship, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri. (PTI File Photo)

Besides holding the foreign office consultations with his Russian counterpart, Misri is expected to meet members of the top Russian leadership during his day-long visit, the people said on condition of anonymity. The visit will also be an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on key regional and global issues, they said.

Expanding trade and investment, especially enhancing Indian exports to make two-way trade more balanced, and maintaining Russian energy supplies to India in the face of additional Western sanctions are expected to be among the issues that will figure in the foreign secretary’s meetings in Russia, the people said.

Two-way trade is currently worth about $66 billion, though it is skewed in Russia’s favour because of India’s massive purchases of crude oil since 2022. India has sought greater access to Russian markets to make the trade more balanced. Last year, the two sides set a bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030.

European countries have enhanced sanctions to stymie oil exports by Russia, which is among the top two energy suppliers for India. New sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet have impacted the country’s ability to supply oil around the world.

The foreign secretary’s visit is being seen as an opportunity for Russia to brief the Indian side on the latest efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, especially after US President Donald Trump’s overtures to President Vladimir Putin and shift away from the traditional US position of providing security guarantees to Europe.