India expects to boost ties with Moscow during top diplomat’s visit — source

NEW DELHI, August 22. /TASS/. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is expected to discuss all aspects of bilateral agenda during his visit to Russia in order to boost cooperation between the two nations, a source in the Indian government has told TASS. "Jaishankar’s visit is of great importance, because it is about the regular dialogue that we maintain with Russia," the source said. "We would like to discuss all aspects of the bilateral agenda in order to further strengthen our partnership." Speaking about Jaishankar’s planned meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, the government source said that along with bilateral issues, the top diplomats will also "discuss geopolitical, international and regional topics." The Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced on Saturday that Jaishankar will visit Russia on August 23-24, at the invitation of First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov. He will co-chair the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC). During the visit, Jaishankar will also meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and "exchange perspectives on regional and global issues," the ministry said.