Jaishankar to visit Russia from December 25 to 29

The 5-day visit is part of ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.

Updated on: Dec 25, 2023, 24:10:07 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, New Delhi

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External affairs minister S Jaishankar will embark on a five-day visit to Russia from December 25 for meetings with the top leadership in Moscow aimed at bolstering bilateral ties.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ((ANI Photo))

The visit during December 25-29 is part of ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.

Jaishankar will meet Russia’s deputy prime minister Denis Manturov, who is also the industry and trade minister, to discuss matters related to economic engagement. He will also meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for discussion on bilateral, multilateral and international issues, the ministry said.

Besides focusing on the strong people-to-people and cultural ties between the two countries, Jaishankar’s programme will include engagements in Moscow and St Petersburg.

“The time tested India-Russia partnership has remained stable and resilient and continues to be characterised by the spirit of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” the ministry said.

Jaishankar’s visit assumes significance as India and Russia will not hold their annual leaders’ summit this year, people familiar with the matter said. The last summit was held in New Delhi in December 2021, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s travels have been curtailed since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Among the issues that are expected to figure in the meetings in Moscow are trade, connectivity, expansion of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping, cooperation at multilateral platforms such as the United Nations and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, defence cooperation, and the war in Ukraine, the people said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More