Russian Deputy PM calls on PM Modi ahead of key intergovernmental meeting

New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Denis Manturov, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday ahead of the 25th Session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation that will be held in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The two leaders exchanged views on enhancing India-Russia cooperation in various areas, including trade and economic ties, energy, connectivity among others.

"PM Modi welcomed the sustained and joint efforts being made by the teams on both sides for the implementation of the decisions taken during his recent visits and meetings with President Putin to further strengthen India- Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) mentioned in a statement.

PM Modi also extended his warm greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that he looked forward to continued exchanges with him.

Manturov and External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will on Tuesday co-chair the 25th session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) that serves as the highest-level forum for bilateral economic collaboration between the two countries, encompassing a broad range of areas from trade to cultural exchange.

Earlier in the day, the Russian First Deputy Prime Minister emphasised that Russia-India business relations continue to strengthen amid the "external economic pressure".

"An objective indicator of this is the record volume of trade turnover that we reached last year. And there are all the prerequisites to surpass this achievement this year. At the same time, in addition to the quantitative growth of mutual trade, it is important to diversify its structure. Not just to balance commodity flows, but also to increase the share of high-tech products," said Manturov at the India-Russia Business Forum in Mumbai that was also addressed by EAM Jaishankar.

Manturov listed development of the transport industry, including the introduction of unmanned technologies and the transfer of vehicles to alternative fuels, and increasing the potential of the nuclear sector - including the production of high-power turbines, equipment for solar and wind generation and improving LNG technologies - as the key areas of bilateral economic cooperation.

He also spoke on providing the healthcare system with advanced medicines and medical devices, as well as strengthening Russia's leading positions in the areas of nuclear medicine, production of vaccines and development of the cell engineering segment.

The Russian Deputy PM said that conditions for high-impact economic partnership between the two countries are formed by two national programmes that are "similar in spirit" - India's 'Make in India' programme and the course towards technological sovereignty taken by the Russian government.

Both of these initiatives, he said, are aimed at accelerating the pace of production, developing innovations and removing infrastructure restrictions.

He also listed other sectors, including increasing agricultural productivity through genetic and biotechnology, precision farming systems, irrigation and reclamation technologies besides building up competencies in high-tech means of production and technologies for the transition to a closed-cycle economy, as well as in space services, where the two countries can collaborate more intensely in the near future.