Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
Ahead of his visit to Vladivostok in Russia to take part in the 5th Eastern Economic Forum – EEF summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his departure statement said his visit to Vladivostok is the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the Far East Region of Russia and it underlines the desire on the both sides to strengthen the bonds of robust bilateral relations. He said the EEF summit presents enormous potential for developing close and mutually beneficial cooperation between Rusia and India in this region.
Prime Minister will be the Chief Guest at the 5th Eastern Economic Forum. The Prime Minister will also attend the 20th annual summit between Russia and India during the visit.
Prime Minister said India and Russia enjoy excellent relations, based on the strong foundation of special strategic partnership and also have robust and growing trade and investment opportunities. The Prime Minister said, Our strong partnership is complemented by a desire to promote a multipolar world and the two countries closely cooperate towards this end in regional and multilateral fora.
In Russia, Prime Minister would also visit to the Zvezda ship-building complex. In a tweet, Prime Minister said, It would present a great opportunity to learn about Russia’s exemplary capabilities in the ship-building sector as well as explore possibilities of cooperation in this area.
Prime Minister said, As a part of efforts to boost cultural cooperation, a special stamp to commemorate Gandhi Ji’s 150th Jayanti would be released. An innovative App to popularise Yoga would also be inaugurated. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said, a gamut of issues related to enhancing cooperation in several areas are expected to figure during Prime Minister’s bilateral talks with Russian leadership.
Mr Gokhale said India and Russia will chalk out a five year road map 2020-24 to enhance cooperation in exploration and exploitation of oil and gas during the Prime Minister’s visit. PSUs like the Coal India Limited and Steel Authority of India Limited are expected to sign Letters of Intent and MoUs with Russian entities in this regard. Several other MoUs are also expected to be signed on the occasion. Apart from firming up some agreements in several issues, the Prime Minister is expected to discuss a number of regional issues during summit talks.
The visit of the Prime Minister to Vladivostok is expected to break new ground in trade and investment cooperation between both the countries in Russia’s Far East region. The meeting between Modi and Putin which will be third this year, may facilitate to extend bilateral cooperation to new areas including oil and gas, mining, farming, railways, agriculture. India may announce investment in new oil fields in Russia and on import of LNG from Russia.
The possibility of oil and gas supply from the Arctic will also be explored during the bilateral talks. In addition, both countries will explore ways to enhance cooperation while working in multilateral organisations like Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS. During summit talks, both Modi and Putin are expected to discuss a number of key regional issues, including the Afghan peace process and situation in the Gulf region.