Russian Foreign Minister to begin two-day India visit tomorrow

New Delhi [India], April 4 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to begin his two-day bilateral visit to India on Monday, which will present an opportunity to discuss aspects of bilateral ties and review preparations for the pending India-Russia annual summit later this year.
"The visit will be a unique opportunity to discuss important aspects of our bilateral ties, also to review preparations for the next India Russia annual summit and also perhaps discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Thursday had said the Russian Foreign Minister, during his visit, will hold talks with his counterpart External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.
"The heads of the foreign affairs agencies will discuss the current state of bilateral relations, the preparation of the upcoming high-level meeting this year, including cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, will consider key topics on the regional, global agenda, assess approaches to the interaction between Russia and India on the international arena, including at the UN, BRICS," Zakharova added.
After India, Lavrov will visit Pakistan from April 6-7.
The foreign minister's visit to India comes as Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited the country in February this year where he met Lavrov and discussed wide-ranging Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries and ways to further strengthen it.
Shringla had said they discussed some regional and international issues of interest including cooperation in the UN and UNSC where India is a non-permanent member now.