Sushma Swaraj arrives in Moscow to co-chair key bilateral meeting

Moscow: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived here Thursday on a two-day visit to co-chair a key bilateral meeting and talks with the Russian leadership to boost the “special privileged strategic partnership.” 

Swaraj, who visiting Russia for the third time in 11 months, had a brief stopover in Ashgabat en route to Moscow during which she held discussions with her Turkmenistan counterpart Rashid Meredov on issues of bilateral interest.

The minister will attend the 23rd India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Technical and Economic Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) which is co-chaired by her and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov.

The IRIGC-TEC is a standing body which annually meets and reviews ongoing activities of bilateral cooperation in the fields of bilateral trade and investment, science and technology, culture and other issues of mutual interest.

The Commission, after taking stock of bilateral cooperation in various fields, will provide policy recommendations and directions in the concerned fields, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “Maintaining the momentum of high-level exchanges,” Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted on the minister’s third visit to Russia in 11 months. 

The last meeting of the Commission was held in New Delhi in December 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for an informal summit in the Black Sea coastal city of Sochi in May during which the two leaders upgraded the traditionally close India-Russia relationship to a “special privileged strategic partnership.” 

The two leaders also met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in June.