Foreign secy on 2-day Russia trip starting tomorrow

New Delhi: Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will visit Moscow on a twoday official visit beginning Wednesday to hold the next round of the IndiaRussia Foreign Office Consultations with Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov, during which “the two sides will review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including the forthcoming high-level exchanges”, New Delhi announced on Monday.

Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will visit Moscow on a two-day official visit beginning Wednesday to hold the next round of the India-Russia Foreign Office Consultations with Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov, during which “the two sides will review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including the forthcoming high-level exchanges”, New Delhi announced on Monday.

It may be recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin was initially expected to visit India last year for the India-Russia annual summit, but both the visit and the summit couldn’t take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry of external affairs said: “Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will pay an official visit to Moscow on 17-18 February 2021 at the invitation of Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov.”

The MEA added: “During the visit, the foreign secretary will also meet Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov for an exchange of views on topical issues of regional and international importance. He will deliver a speech on ‘IndiaRussia relations’ at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”