Modi-Putin summit: Energy cooperation, terrorism, geopolitics discussed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday returned from his one-day informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

The prime minister termed the talks as "extremely productive". He said that the complete range of India-Russia relations, along with other global subjects, were part of the discussions between the two leaders during the summit, PTI reported.

The two leaders held discussions on a range of issues from joint effort against terrorism to defence cooperation, International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS.

President Putin and Prime Minister Modi also talked about expanding cooperation in the energy sector and, in this regard, welcomed the arrival of the first consignment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) under a long-term agreement between Russian gas giant Gazprom and India's state-run gas utility GAIL next month.

Modi also thanked Russia for playing a crucial role in helping India get a permanent membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an eight-nation bloc that aims at military and economic cooperation among member states. India and Pakistan were admitted last year to the organisation.

Here are the top 5 developments from Modi-Putin informal meet:

1. India, Russia voice concern over terrorism: PM Modi and President Putin voiced their concern over terrorism in their first informal meet in Sochi, Russia. "In this context, they endorsed the importance of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan in an atmosphere free from the threat of terrorism, and agreed to work together towards achieving this objective," a joint statement read. The two leaders also agreed that the two countries have an important role to play in contributing to global peace and equitable world order.

2. India, Russia discuss energy cooperation: India and Russia on Monday "noted with satisfaction" the expanding cooperation in the energy sector during the informal Summit.  Both the leaders also agreed to initiate a strategic economic dialogue between NITI Aayog of India and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, to identify greater synergy in trade and investment. They also highlighted the significance of longstanding partnership in the nuclear energy fields and welcomed the ongoing cooperation in that area.

3. Areas of conflict: According to the state-run news agency TASS, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that both leaders agreed that security architecture of the Asia-Pacific should be open and based on “non-bloc” principles, The Wire reported. Whereas, the Indian readout of the meeting did not mention of the two leaders agreeing to such a thing.

4. PM Modi addressed students at Sirius educational centre: Earlier in the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Sirius educational centre in Sochi and met the students there.

5. Prime Minister invites Russian President: Prime Minister Modi invited president Putin for the 19th annual summit in India later this year. The two leaders directed their officials to prepare concrete outcomes for the summit.