Moscow, Aug 21 (IANS) Highlighting that the shared goal of India and Russia is to maximise complementarity, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday expressed confidence that his discussions with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will be "fruitful, productive" and contribute to making the annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin later this year as "outcome-oriented as possible."

"Today's meeting gives us an occasion to discuss our political relationship as well but also to review our bilateral ties. So, I look forward to an exchange of views on politics, trade, on economic investment, defence, science and technology and of course people-to-people exchanges. Our leaders met in July for the 22nd Annual Summit last year and thereafter in Kazan. We now prepare for the annual summit at the end of the year and they have always given us guidance to take forward our Special and Privileged Strategic relationship," the EAM stated in his opening remarks during his meeting with Lavrov in Moscow.

"We have had as you noted a very productive meeting yesterday with Denis Manturov on the Inter-Governmental Commission. We discussed a lot of issues in our bilateral cooperation, found a lot of solutions as well. I would be very happy to share that. But most important, what I want to do today is to take those bilateral discussions forward so that we have the maximum outcomes for the annual summit when that happens," Jaishankar added. The EAM recalled other recent high-level engagements between India and Russia, including National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and Union Minister of Railways and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw's visits to Moscow.

"From our side, we've had quite a busy calendar. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was here. Before that, our Minister of Railways and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and the head of our NITI Aayog, Suman Berry, were here for SPIEF and all these show how close and deep our relationship is. The global context for our meeting today is provided by the evolving geopolitical situation, the shifting economic and trade landscape, and our shared goal is to maximise our complementarity. So, today I am very confident that our exchange of views will be fruitful, productive, and will certainly contribute to making the annual summit as outcome-oriented as possible," he asserted.

EAM Jaishankar thanked Lavrov for the warm welcome and hospitality in Moscow and recalled their earlier meetings on the sidelines of multilateral events, including the recent BRICS Summit and at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Minister's Summit. He said, "I think these regular meetings have helped us to be in continuous touch, which is important at a time when international relations is changing so much." On Wednesday, the EAM co-chaired the 26th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) in Moscow along with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

Following this, the EAM took to X and posted, "Pleased to join First DPM Denis Manturov and attend the India-Russia Business Forum. Appreciate the assessments and reports of various sectoral leaders regarding the deeper potential of our economic ties." "Reiterated that an enduring strategic partnership must have a strong and sustainable economic component. And in this context called on our businesses to do more trade, contemplate more investments and joint ventures, and open new frontiers of economic cooperation," he added.