The leadership of India and Russia have a relationship of great trust and confidence and a package of significant documents will be signed at the annual bilateral summit, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
The ministers were speaking ahead of a bilateral meeting, which would be followed by the maiden India-Russia 2+2 dialogue of defence and foreign ministers, and the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu also held a separate meeting and co-chaired a session of the inter-government commission on military-technical cooperation.
“For us, the annual India-Russia Summit is a unique event. Prime Minister Modi and President Putin share a relationship of great trust and confidence. The annual India-Russia summit is taking place after a gap of two years because of the [pandemic]. We are looking forward to some very significant outcomes from the summit,” Jaishankar said in televised opening remarks.
Lavrov, speaking through a translator, added, “A whole package of significant documents has been drafted for signing [at the summit].”
{{/usCountry}}Lavrov, speaking through a translator, added, “A whole package of significant documents has been drafted for signing [at the summit].”
{{/usCountry}}This was the fourth in-person meeting this year between Lavrov and Jaishankar, who said they would discuss bilateral ties and the global situation. He described the partnership between the two countries as “very special and very unique”.
Jaishankar added, “We are very conscious that in a world of rapid geopolitical changes, [the India-Russia partnership] has in fact been remarkably steady and strong.”
India and Russia are expected to sign up to 10 agreements in defence, trade, space, technology and energy during the annual summit.
Ahead of Putin’s day-long visit, the Indian government cleared a plan for the joint production of more than 500,000 AK-203 assault rifles with Russia to boost self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
The two sides will have an intense engagement on issues ranging from ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, connectivity and energy to regional security concerns, such as the situation in Afghanistan.
The delivery of the first squadron of S-400 air defence systems – part of a $5.4 billion contract with Russia for five systems – is coinciding with the visit. Russian officials have said that the delivery of components for the air defence systems has already begun.