Putin aides to visit India for talks on trade, space

Dmitry Rogozin, currently director general of the state-run space agency Roscosmos, and minister for economic development Maxim Oreshkin will be in New Delhi between July 9 and 10 for the crucial talks, people familiar with developments said.

Updated on: Jul 7, 2019, 07:39:43 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Rezaul H Laskar

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Two top aides of Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India next week for talks aimed at diversifying and expanding cooperation in areas ranging from trade to outer space and to prepare the grounds for the annual summit of the two countries.

Rogozin, who was earlier the deputy prime minister in-charge of the defence industry and has often been tasked by Putin to handle key issues, is expected to explore possibilities for cooperation in space, including training of Indian personnel for Gaganyaan. (PTI)

Dmitry Rogozin, currently director general of the state-run space agency Roscosmos, and minister for economic development Maxim Oreshkin will be in New Delhi between July 9 and 10 for the crucial talks, people familiar with developments said.

Their visit, coming close on the heels of a trip last month by Yury Trutnev, the deputy prime minister and presidential envoy for Russia’s Far East, is aimed at firming up the agenda and identifying new areas for cooperation ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum between September 4 and 6.

Prime Minister Modi will also hold the annual bilateral summit with President Putin after the business meet.

Rogozin, who was earlier the deputy prime minister in-charge of the defence industry and has often been tasked by Putin to handle key issues, is expected to explore possibilities for cooperation in space, including training of Indian personnel for Gaganyaan, India’s planned manned space mission, launch of satellites and possible joint projects in Latin American countries, the people cited above said.

Oreshkin will explore possibilities for expanding bilateral trade, which has stagnated in the range of $10 billion for the past few years, and investments.

Trutnev too had held wide-ranging discussions on trade and investment, including possible Indian involvement in mining and other activities in the resource-rich Far East.

Officials on both side, who declined to be identified, acknowledged that defence and strategic cooperation, including the building of nuclear power plants, remained strong but there was a widespread perception that the two sides had been unable to capitalise on the potential for trade.

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

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.