India, Russia discuss ways to deepen cooperation in mining, agriculture

India and Russia discussed ways to increase economic cooperation in areas such as mining and geological exploration in gold and diamond, and agriculture, the commerce ministry said Tuesday.

The issues were discussed during the meeting between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu.

Prabhu is in Vladivostok, Russia, to attend the Far Eastern Economic Forum being held from September 11-13.

The commerce minister invited regional governors of the Far East to visit India with business delegations in order to explore areas of cooperation.

India was the first country to establish a resident consulate in Vladivostok in 1992.

However, India's existing engagement with the region is limited to isolated pockets, it said.

"In order to bolster the trade ties it is imperative that connectivity between India and Vladivostok have to be simplified, affordable and time efficient," it said.

It added that ease of connectivity will not only provide access to the resource rich, unexplored Far East but will also strengthen India's geo-political stature.