Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Sep 11
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held wide-ranging talks on Friday aimed at boosting bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, while expanding cooperation in defence, energy, fertilisers and critical minerals.
Putin arrived in New Delhi earlier in the day for the two-day BRICS summit, which begins on Saturday.
After their meeting, Modi and Putin travelled together by car inside the Bharat Mandapam complex to attend a business forum.
The talks covered ways to expand trade and investment, with India seeking greater access for its exporters to the Russian market to narrow a trade deficit that has widened in Moscow’s favour, people familiar with the discussions said.
Bilateral trade currently stands at about $65 billion, and the two sides discussed measures to reach the $100 billion target by 2030.
Putin also briefed Modi on developments in the Ukraine conflict and peace efforts, the people said.
Modi reiterated India’s position that the conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
The two leaders had met last week on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, where Modi called for an end to the war.
Defence cooperation also figured prominently in Friday’s talks.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Russia and India were exploring upgrades to BrahMos missiles.
Moscow also remains committed to completing deliveries of the S-400 air defence systems and is discussing a possible supply of Su-57 fighter jets, he said.
Modi and Putin also reviewed energy cooperation and agreed to deepen collaboration in civil nuclear power.
The talks covered industrial cooperation, railways and tunnelling, development of the steel value chain and wider access for Indian exporters to Russia.
The two sides also discussed facilitating the movement of skilled Indian workers to Russia and cooperation in critical minerals, the people said.
