Trade on Shringla’s Russia visit agenda

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 15

In this year’s first visit abroad, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will pay a two-day official visit to Moscow from February 17 to18. It signifies the importance India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Russian Federation, said a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) news release.

Delhi’s endeavour

• Though China as a large consumer of oil will be in the mix, sources said New Delhi’s endeavour would be to promote the India-Japan-Russia trilateral.
• Japanese PM Yoshihude Suga is seen as different from his predecessor Shinzo Abe who had put more faith in India.

The visit by the Foreign Secretary will set in motion a busy calendar of events with Moscow that will culminate in a summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Valdimir Putin. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also hold a review of bilateral ties before the summit.

Shringla is expected to discuss the long-term trajectory of India-Russia relations, especially in the Arctic and the Russian Far East. PM Modi had signalled India’s interest in the Russian Far East by announcing a $1 billion credit line for the region during his visit to Vladivostok in September 2019.

Though Putin and PM Modi did not meet last year, the two sides sustained the momentum with Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visiting Moscow.

The Foreign Secretary will also meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov for an exchange of views on “topical issues” of regional and international importance. He will also deliver a speech on ‘India-Russia relations’ at the 90-year-old Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Office.

In the run-up to Shringla’s visit, Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma met a Kremlin strategist on the Arctic and the Far East Anton Vasiliev.