Sushma Swaraj reaches Moscow to co-chair key bilateral meeting
What's the story
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reached Moscow yesterday on a two-day visit to co-chair key bilateral meeting and talks with Russian leadership to boost "special privileged strategic partnership". Swaraj, who's visiting Russia for the third time in 11 months, had a stopover in Ashgabat en route to Moscow during which she held discussions with her Turkmenistan counterpart Rashid Meredov on issues of bilateral interest.
Meeting
Swaraj will attend 23rd IRIGC-TEC
Swaraj will attend the 23rd India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Technical and Economic Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) which is co-chaired by her and the Deputy Prime Minister of Russian Federation Yuri Borisov. The IRIGC-TEC is a standing body which annually meets and reviews ongoing activities of bilateral cooperation in the fields of bilateral trade and investment, science and technology, culture and other issues of mutual interest.
Information
Last meeting of Commission was held in December 2017
The Commission, after taking stock of bilateral cooperation in various fields, will provide policy recommendations and directions in the concerned fields, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The last meeting of the Commission was held in New Delhi in December 2017.
Past meetings
Modi, Putin had met in Sochi, also during BRICS Summit
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had met for an informal summit in the Black Sea coastal city of Sochi in May this year, they had upgraded the traditionally close India-Russia relationship to a "special privileged strategic partnership". The two leaders had also met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in June this year.