External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will discuss a range of issues with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, including Covid-19 pandemic and possibly the evolving situation in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US troops, during his three-day official visit to Russia starting Wednesday.
“Discussions are expected to cover the entire range of bilateral issues, including cooperation in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as well as exchange of views on various regional and international issues,” according to an official release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.
The External Affairs Minister will also meet Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov, his counterpart for the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).
A meeting with the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, is also scheduled.
Jaishankar will deliver a speech on ‘India-Russia ties in a changing world’ at the Primakov Institute of World Economy & International Relations, Moscow, the release said.
The Russian Foreign Minister had visited New Delhi in April 2021. “The visit will further strengthen the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ between the two countries,” the release stated.