Indian external minister S Jaishankar arrived in Russia on Monday (17) for a three-day visit to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of State Council meeting. He was welcomed at the airport by Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar and Aleei Pavlosky, Director of the Second Asian Department in Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Later in the day, he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They are expected to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues, including cooperation within the SCO, BRICS, the UN, and the G-20, state-run TASS news agency reported.
They are also likely to touch upon preparations for President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi. President Putin is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Putin had last visited New Delhi in 2021.
On Tuesday, Jaishankar would represent Prime Minister Modi at the SCO meeting of the prime ministers' council, which is likely to be addressed by President Putin.
On Wednesday, he would virtually inaugurate two new Indian consulates in Kazan and Ekaterinburg. India already has consulates in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok.
