NWE DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he held a “wide-ranging conversation” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, discussing bilateral cooperation, regional hotspots, global challenges and multilateral issues. In a post on X on Monday (local time), Jaishankar said, “A wide-ranging conversation this evening with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia.”
“Discussed our bilateral cooperation, regional hotspots, global challenges and multilateral issues,” he added.
The conversation came after Jaishankar met Russian President Vladimir Putin Yesterday at the Kremlin in Moscow during his two-day official visit to Russia and handed over a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Jaishankar said he briefed Putin on the deliberations of the 27th India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) and discussed regional and global issues.
“Pleased to call on President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Moscow today. Handed over a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Briefed him on the deliberation held under the 27th IRIGC-TEC, reviewing our cooperation across a wide range of domains. Value his guidance in that regard. Also discussed regional and global issues of importance,” Jaishankar said in another post on X.
During the meeting, Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Modi’s “good wishes” to Putin and handed over the personal communication from the Prime Minister.
“Let me begin by conveying the good wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has given me a personal communication which I would like to hand over to you,” Jaishankar said.
He highlighted progress in bilateral economic cooperation, including trade, energy, fertilisers and nuclear cooperation.
“We had a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission. I think overall we have a good report to give to you. I think our economic cooperation, trade, energy, fertilisers, nuclear, and other dimensions as well — I’d be pleased to speak about them in detail. Overall, I think our economic cooperation has grown very significantly,” he said.
Jaishankar also said that Prime Minister Modi looked forward to meeting Putin at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit and welcoming him to India for the BRICS Summit.
“Prime Minister Modi looks forward to meeting you at the SCO Summit, then welcoming you to India for the BRICS Summit, and, in due course, as per your mutual convenience, having the annual summit, so we have a very strong picture of cooperation to present,” he said.
Putin, welcoming Jaishankar, said the visit reflected the longstanding relationship between Russia and India. He asked the External Affairs Minister to convey his best wishes to Prime Minister Modi and expressed hope of meeting him soon at the SCO Summit.
“And at the beginning of our conversation, I would like to ask you to convey my best wishes to PM Modi. I hope to see him soon, as we planned, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation very soon. Our schedule is such that we will probably be able to meet again this year,” Putin said.
The Russian President also referred to Jaishankar’s discussions with First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov under the intergovernmental commission, noting that energy, fertiliser supplies, nuclear energy and cooperation in high-technology sectors were among the key issues on the agenda.
Earlier, Jaishankar co-chaired the 27th session of the IRIGC-TEC with Manturov.
Jaishankar was on a two-day official visit to Russia from August 23 to 24 at Manturov’s invitation. His discussions with Russian officials focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation and addressing regional and global issues.