Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the 5th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostoc, Russia, as the chief guest between September 4-6. He will also hold the 20th India-Russia annual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While expanding existing civil nuclear cooperation will be a key focus area during the visit, the buzz is that a new impetus will be given to military-technical cooperation and increasing annual bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2025.
Both sides will sign as many as 25 pacts across sectors such as defence, trade, investments, industrial cooperation, energy and connectivity corridors at the summit, The Economic Times reported. The proposed agreements will also cover education and culture which would increase the intake of Indian students in top Russian educational institutes.
Delhi and Moscow may also conclude a pact that will employ Indians at projects in the resource-rich Far East. The fact that the summit is being organised in Vladivostok, the hub of Far East Russia, is being viewed as testimony to the region’s importance for both countries as part of their respective Indo-Pacific and Asia-Pacific strategies. Before the summit, the two leaders will reportedly visit Zvezda shipbuilding complex – the ships built there in future may be used to deliver Russian oil and LNG to India.
