New Delhi (NVI): India and Russia will hold their first Bilateral Regional Forum next year at the level of Russian Provinces and Indian States to dismantle the barriers of trade at the regional level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have decided.
Meeting on the sidelines of the 11th BRICS summit yesterday at Brasilia, the two leaders noted that the USD 25 billion target of bilateral trade by 2025 has already been achieved by their countries.
Both leaders reviewed the progress made in the field of Infrastructure particularly railways in the context of raising the speed of the Nagpur-Secunderabad sector railway line, an official statement said.
Noting the stability and progress made in imports of oil and natural gas, President Putin highlighted the potential of the Arctic region in natural gas and invited India to invest in the region.
Taking note of cooperation in the Defence sector and in the field of Civil Nuclear Energy, both leaders welcomed the prospects of cooperation in civil nuclear energy in third countries. Also noted that both sides shared common position on international issues and agreed to continue close consultations in the future, the statement said.
Modi meets Chinese President
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi also met China President Xi Jinping wherein both sides agreed on the importance of maintaining close dialogue on matters relating to trade and investment.
President Jinping invited Modi for the third informal summit in China in 2020. He further thanked PM India’s substantial participation in the recently concluded China Import Export Expo in Shanghai. The two leaders agreed that the new High-Level Mechanism on Trade and Economy should be set up at an early date.
They also reviewed preparations for celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year.
Reiterating the importance of maintaining peace and security in the border areas, both sides noted that the Special Representatives will have another meeting on matters relating to the Boundry Question, an official statement added.
In the meeting, they also exchanged their views on multilateral issues including WTO, BRICS and RCEP.
PM meets Brazil President
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi also met President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Jair Messias Bolsonaro wherein both sides decided to comprehensively enhance strategic partnership.
Inviting Brazilian President as the Chief Guest for Republic Day in 2020, PM Modi outlined areas for potential investment from Brazil, including in areas of agricultural equipment, animal husbandry, post-harvest technologies and biofuels and said that he looked forward to discussing matters relating to trade, said the statement.
President of Brazil Messias expressed his readiness to visit India and informed PM Modi that a large business delegation will accompany him to India. They also discussed other areas of cooperation including space and defence sectors. PM welcomed the decision of President to grant visa-free travel to Indian citizens, the official statement added.
–ps
