NSA Doval Meets Russia's First Deputy PM, Discusses Military-Technical Cooperation

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on Friday and held discussions on bilateral military-technical ties and implementation of joint projects in strategic sectors, PTI reported. Doval is visiting Russia to prepare the ground for President Putin's visit to India later this year and hold talks on other matters. 

The Russian Embassy in India released a post stating that the talks comprised "topical issues of #RussiaIndia military-technical cooperation, as well as the implementation of joint projects in other strategic sectors, including civil aircraft manufacturing, metallurgy, and the chemical industry."

NSA Doval also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral ties between both nations. He also emphasised on India’s commitment to continue its cooperation with Russia despite outside pressure, referring to the additional tariffs imposed by United States president Donald Trump on New Delhi for purchasing Russian oil. 

According to sources, Doval extended an invitation to President Putin on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India later this year, which Putin has accepted with gratitude.

The visit comes ahead of Putin’s meeting with Donald Trump in Alaska on August 15th to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. The meeting’s outcomes could determine the future course of relations between India and the United States. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to visit China this month to attend the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) scheduled for August 31 to September 1. The trip is anticipated to follow a visit to Japan around August 29.This would be Modi’s first visit to China since June 2018, when he attended the SCO summit in Qingdao. According to PTI, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday, “China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness.”