India, Russia to Review Ties in Trump Geopolitical Era

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India and Russia will take stock of their bilateral ties in times of Trump Presidency in the US when Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat. This will be the first high-level Indo-Russia meeting after Donald Trump won the US Presidential elections. It will also be the first high-level contact after the Putin-Modi summit on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Goa.

Rogozin is officially attending the "Vibrant Gujarat Summit" in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and will utilize the opportunity for a high level political and strategic dialogue.

"Dmitry Rogozin will arrive in Gujarat on January 9 and will leave the next day. He is coming with a big delegation which includes officials from various business houses," sources in the Russian embassy told Sputnik. "Rogozin and Prime Minister Modi will have bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. There will be delegation level talks also," a source added.

The Vibrant Gujarat Summit will provide a good opportunity for India to evaluate its ties with all-weather friend Russia in the changing geopolitical situation.

There was concern over perceived Russian support for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Russia-China-Pakistan talks on reaching out to the Taliban. The Modi-Rogozin talks will try to coordinate their approaches on Afghanistan-Pakistan region. India has a big stake in the South Asian region and any development here will have direct implications on its stability.

Apart from the political and strategic issues, Modi-Rogozin talks will also focus on strengthening the economic partnership as both the countries have set their sights on increasing bilateral trade. There will also be discussions related to bilateral defense and energy projects.

There will be a display of Russian industrial strength as several Russian companies are participating in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.