Brasilia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had an “excellent” meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit here, during which the two leaders reviewed the full range of bilateral ties.
Modi tweeted on Wednesday: “Had an excellent meeting with President Putin. During our talks, we reviewed the full range of India-Russia relations. India and Russia are cooperating extensively in areas such as trade, security and culture. The people of our nations will benefit due to close bilateral ties.”
The PMO handle tweeted, with a photo of the two leaders meeting, “Adding strength to India-Russia ties.”
During the meeting, their fourth this year, saw President Putin reiterate his invitation to PM Modi to visit Moscow to participate in the Victory Day celebrations next year, which Modi gladly accepted.
President Putin also highlight the potential of the Arctic region in natural gas and invited India to invest in the region.
Both the leaders reviewed the progress made in the bilateral relationship since Modi’s visit to Vladivostok in September. Modi specifically mentioned the successful visits of Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan to Russia, an MEA statement said.
The two leaders noted with satisfaction that the $25 billion target of bilateral trade by 2025 has already been achieved. They decided that the 1st Bilateral Regional Forum at the level of Russian Provinces and Indian States would be held next year to dismantle the barriers of trade at regional level.
The two leaders noted the stability and progress made in imports of oil and natural gas and reviewed the progress in the field of Infrastructure, particularly railways, in context of raising the speed of the Nagpur-Secunderabad sector railway line.
The leaders also noted with satisfaction the cooperation in Defence sector and in the field of Civil Nuclear Energy and also welcomed the prospects of cooperation in civil nuclear energy in third countries.
The two also noted that both sides shared common position on international issues and agreed to continue close consultations in the future.