Focus on oil & gas sector likely during PM's Moscow visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Russia from Wednesday, which is likely to focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation in the sectors of nuclear energy, oil, defence and trade.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Tuesday said India and Russia were expected to sign a number of agreements covering a broad range of sectors. Bilateral talks between Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled for Thursday.

Jaishankar said expanding economic ties would be a “very big priority.” India and Russia aim to enhance bilateral trade from the current $10 billion (Rs 66.27 crore) to $30 billion (Rs 198.62 crore) by 2025.  The Foreign Secretary said India was looking at deeper engagement in Russia’s oil and coal sector besides stepping up cooperation in some other areas like diamond trade and agro-business. Russia is a top oil producer in the world and has huge natural gas reserves. India is also likely to push for a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Zone.

Jaishankar said India and Russia will also enhance defence cooperation. “Russia has been a major military and strategic partner . There will be a lot of discussions on that,” he said. Last week, defence ministry’s top acquisition council had cleared the purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.

Modi will address a gathering of ‘Friends of India’. Nearly 3,000 people are expected to attend the event. He will also visit Russia's EMERCOM facility which deals with disaster management.