India-Russia first 2+2 ministerial dialogue begins, key takeaways from today's meet

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• Dec 6, 2021 | Deleted

New Delhi: Ahead of the Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India on Monday evening, the first 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue began between the Russian and Indian ministers at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan here on Monday morning.

The dialogue which is going on between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with their Russian counterparts Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Shoigu is expected to focus on 'political and defence issues of mutual interest.'

"The agenda for the dialogue will cover political and defence issues of mutual interest. The establishment of this mechanism of two plus two dialogue is expected further to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries." Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said earlier.

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As per the report, the Russian President, who is likely to reach the national capital in the afternoon, will be in India for just 6-7 hours. During his short visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet for the 21st round of the Indo-Russia Summit.

Here are some of the points of the expected agenda of the meeting which is going to be held at Hyderabad House, Delhi at 5.30 pm-

1.The talk between the Russian President and PM Modi will seal the joint production agreement of the AK-203 assault rifles. Under this, more than 5 lakh AK-203 rifles will be produced in Amethi.

2.The AK-203 rifles will replace INAS rifles inducted more than three decades ago.

3.It will also discuss the Igla air defence system deal; however, that is not likely to be signed during the visit.

4.The Russian President is expected to hand over the model of an S-400 air defence system to PM Modi.

5.During the summit, several agreements to deepen cooperation in defence, trade, space, technology, energy and culture are expected to be inked.

6.A key pact that could be signed is the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) that will allow militaries of the two nations to access logistics and support facilities at each other's bases.

Notably, this will be the first face-to-face meeting between PM Modi and his counterpart after the meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brasilia in November 2019.