India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh will visit Moscow from April 16-17 for the annual Foreign Office Consultation with her Russian counterparts, First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov and Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.
On the agenda is a review of the bilateral calendar of high-level exchanges leading up to the Annual Summit scheduled for later this year as well as assessing the evolving security situation in Ukraine. The visit is also expected to evaluate the mile-stones of the bilateral relationship and establish foreign policy priorities for the next elected government in New Delhi.
This will be Singh’s first independent visit to Moscow after taking over as the Foreign Secretary.
New Delhi and Moscow have always shared a robust bilateral relationship. Russia has been a significant player in India’s economic development and security. During President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in 2000, the two sides had signed the ‘Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership,’ to strengthen co-operation in the cultural, defence, economic and political spheres. The bilateral trade between India and Russia today stands at $11 billion and the two nations hope to achieve the target of $20 billion by 2015.