MOSCOW: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who is also in charge of defence industry and trade, and discussed bilateral military-technical ties and implementation of joint projects in strategic sectors.
Doval was in Russia to hold crucial talks on bilateral energy and defence ties and to prepare the ground for President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India later this year.
Manturov is co-chair of the India-Russia Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Cultural Cooperation along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He met Doval on Friday.
“The two sides discussed the topical issues of military-technical cooperation between Russia and India and implementation of joint projects in other strategic areas, including civil aircraft, metallurgy and chemical industry,” the Russian government press service said in a release.
The talks covered “topical issues of #RussiaIndia military-technical cooperation, as well as the implementation of joint projects in other strategic sectors, including civil aircraft manufacturing, metallurgy, and the chemical industry,” according to the Russian Embassy in India.
On Thursday, Doval called on President Putin at the Kremlin to discuss bilateral cooperation and reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to continue cooperation on all fronts with Moscow in spite of outside pressure.
The NSA’s visit to Russia comes in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump slapping an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as a penalty for buying Russian oil, doubling it to 50 per cent.
According to sources, Doval extended an invitation to President Putin on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India later this year, which Putin has accepted.
PM Modi on Friday spoke with President Putin over the phone during which the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia.
Prior to meeting with Putin, Doval also held detailed discussions with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergey Shoigu, and discussed key bilateral and international issues in the wake of Trump’s tariffs.
