India, Russia to establish '2+2 ministerial dialogue' between foreign, defence ministers

On the lines of 2+2 dialogue with the United States, India and Russia have decided to establish dialogue on the same pattern, to add further momentum to the strategic partnership between the two countries.

This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he held a telephonic discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he expressed gratitude for Russia's support during the COVID-19.

"To add further momentum to our strong strategic partnership, President Putin and I have agreed to establish a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between our Foreign and Defence Ministers," PM Modi tweeted on Wednesday.

Two leaders also reviewed bilateral cooperation, especially in the area of space exploration and renewable energy sector, including in hydrogen economy.

Both leaders held a discussion on Sputnik-V vaccine and highlighted that the partnership between both countries in production of the vaccine will help the world in fighting COVID-19.

"Our cooperation on Sputnik-V vaccine will assist humty in battling the pandemic," PM Modi said.

India reported over 3.60 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases and 3,293 related deaths in the last 24 hours.

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov's India visit had talked about the longstanding partnership in the nuclear space and defence sectors between the two countries.

Much of the discussion between the two ministers covered the preparations for Putin's visit for the annual summit to be held in India later this year.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor