Lavrov, Jaishankar Agree to Boost ‘Specially Privileged’ Russia-India Ties

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sat down with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow on Tuesday to focus on an array of pressing issues related to bilateral cooperation.

One of the topics discussed was the North-South transport corridor, of which Russia and India are members.

When asked by a Sputnik correspondent whether the corridor needs a second breath, Lavrov said he doesn’t think so because this project "has already been revitalized."

"It attracts active attention from all the countries involved, and it will definitely be fomented soon," the Russian foreign minister added, separately pointing to an increasing economic clout of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group and a diminishing role of G7 countries.

Jaishankar, for his part, told the Sputnik correspondent about mutually beneficial collaboration between Moscow and New Delhi, touting Russia as a valuable and reliable partner.

"I think […] our growing trade, investments, and military-technical cooperation […] will give you a good sense of really the importance and the value that we attach to the relationship," the top Indian diplomat emphasized.

He pointed out that trade turnover between India and Russia could exceed $50 billion before the end of this year, something that he said had been discussed during his talks with Lavrov. Jaishankar also stressed the importance of bilateral trade being "more balanced and sustainable."

The Indian foreign minister also said that economic relations between Moscow and New Delhi "are developing" and that India, in particular, hopes to expand its investments in the Russian oil and gas sector.

Separately, Jaishankar expressed hope that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take place next year.

"The tradition of annual meetings between our leaders is something that we value very greatly. […] I'm very confident that we will see an annual summit next year," the top Indian diplomat said.

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Lavrov, in turn, told reporters that during the Wednesday talks, Moscow and New Delhi specifically confirmed their focus on strengthening cooperation in the energy sector.

"This is a strategic direction of our collaboration, which specifically pertains to increasing the export of hydrocarbons from Russia to the Indian market, as well as interaction in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy, including further implementation of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant project," the Russian foreign minister stressed.

He said that Russia taking part in the project is its “practical contribution to India's efforts to meet its needs for clean and safe energy from its own production."

Lavrov also said that he had discussed the future of the Russia-India defense industry partnership, adding that "concrete forward movement" was seen in cooperation between the two countries.

"We have discussed prospects for defense industry cooperation, including joint production of modern weapons. There is also concrete forward movement here. Our interaction in this area is also of a strategic nature, and the strengthening of such relationship is in line with the national interests of our states," the top Russian diplomat underscored.

As part of efforts to boost the military partnership between the two nations, Moscow is ready to support the Make in India initiative launched by New Delhi in 2014 with a view to increasing the production of goods and items manufactured in this Asian country, according to Lavrov.

The Russian foreign minister underlined that he and Jaishankar also called to boost political dialogue, praising bilateral ties as "specially privileged" ones.

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The Indian foreign minister is visiting Russia from December 25-29 as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two countries. Apart from Lavrov, Jaishankar is scheduled to meet with Trade Minister Denis Manturov to discuss a spate of economic matters and to sit down with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday evening, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"India is an important partner of ours, so the minister will talk about the [bilateral] contacts as we discuss them," Peskov said, referring to the upcoming meeting.

Lavrov-Jaishankar Talks: Moscow and New Delhi to Boost 'Specially Privileged' Ties