External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit Russia on August 23-24 to co-chair the 25th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The visit comes as India and Russia continue to maintain their long-standing strategic partnership, with defence, energy and economic cooperation forming important parts of bilateral ties.
The IRIGC-TEC is the primary government-level mechanism for enhancing trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. It also covers cooperation in areas including science, technology and culture. The commission is co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister from the Indian side and Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
During the upcoming visit, Jaishankar and Manturov will review bilateral cooperation under the commission and discuss ways to further strengthen engagement between the two countries. The visit comes amid continued efforts by India and Russia to deepen economic and commercial ties.
The commission's previous session was held in Moscow on August 20, 2025, when Jaishankar co-chaired the 26th IRIGC-TEC with Manturov. Discussions at that meeting included addressing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, removing logistics bottlenecks, improving connectivity and payment mechanisms, and advancing the Programme of Economic Cooperation until 2030.
Jaishankar's upcoming visit will also be his latest trip to Russia following his November 2025 visit to Moscow for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of Government meeting. His August 2025 visit had also included the 26th session of the IRIGC-TEC.
India and Russia describe their relationship as a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”, with cooperation spanning political and diplomatic engagement, defence, energy, trade, science and technology and culture. The two sides have continued to maintain high-level engagement despite the geopolitical changes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The upcoming commission meeting will provide another platform for the two sides to assess progress in bilateral economic cooperation and identify areas for further engagement.
