India, Russia to increase cooperation in AI, blockchain system

India and Russia Tuesday agreed to increase cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain system, and explore the possibility of joint work in healthcare, an official statement said.

The two sides also decided to increase cooperation in the field of tourism, digital front, financial technology and quantum computing.

"Both sides agreed to explore joint working arrangements and pilot projects in healthcare, proposed setting up of a single-window clearance," said the statement issued after the first India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue at St Petersburg.

The two nations also agreed on tourism being a valuable tool for increasing people-to-people contact and economic cooperation.

The dialogue was led by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin.

According to the statement, the dialogue focussed on five core areas - transport infrastructure, agriculture and agro-processing sector, small & medium business support, digital transformation & frontier technologies and industrial & trade cooperation.

It was decided that the next round of Strategic Economic Dialogue would be held in India in July/August 2019.