PM Modi, Russian President Putin review progress in trade ties
15 Nov 2019
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 11th BRICS summit at Brasilia where the two leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations since Modi's visit to Vladivostok.
The prime minister is reported to have specifically mentioned the successful visits of India’s minister of defence and minister of petroleum and natural gas to Russia.
With the 2025 bilateral trade target of $25 billion having already achieved, the two leaders have decided to initiate regional level trade forums between the two countries in order to dismantle the barriers of trade at regional level. The first bilateral regional forum at the level of Russian provinces and Indian states will be held next year.
The two leaders noted the stability and progress made in imports of oil and natural gas. President Putin highlighted the potential of Arctic region in natural gas and invited India to invest in the region.
The two leaders also reviewed the progress made in the field of Infrastructure particularly railways in context of raising the speed of the Nagpur-Secunderabad sector railway line. The leaders also noted with satisfaction the cooperation in defence sector and in the field of civil nuclear energy.
The two leaders also noted that both sides shared common position on international issues and agreed to continue close consultations in the future.
President Putin reiterated the invitation to PM to visit Moscow to participate in the Victory Day celebrations next year, which PM gladly accepted.
The BRICS Business Council, meanwhile, charted a roadmap to achieve the $ 500 billion Intra-BRICS trade target by the next summit and for identification of economic complementarities among BRICS countries.
Prime Minister Modi said the partnership agreement between New Development Bank (NDB) and BRICS Business Council would be useful for both the institutions. He requested BRICS countries and NDB to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure initiative. He also requested that the work of establishing the Regional Office of NDB in India be completed soon. This will give a boost to projects in priority areas, he added.
