NSA Ajit Doval meets Russian counterpart for the second time in April to discuss security partnership

NSA Ajit Doval on Wednesday met his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev for the second time in April to discuss bilateral security and defence partnership.

“On the sidelines of the XII International Meeting of High Ranking Officials Responsible for Security Matters in St Petersburg, NSA Ajit Doval had a bilateral meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest,” read a post on X issued by the Indian Embassy in Moscow. Both NSAs share strong personal chemistry.

Earlier this month Doval met with Patrushev and discussed measures to strengthen counter-terror cooperation.

The two NSAs, who met at the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kazakhstan, had discussed countering terrorism both bilaterally and in multilateral formats, and emphasised on regular exchange of information about terrorist and extremist elements.

In that meeting Doval strongly condemned the “barbaric” terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22 and expressed condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Doval conveyed India’s solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation and discussed addressing the threat from terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

In St Petersburg Doval also met with his Myanmar counterpart amid deteriorating security situation in the SE Asian country and discussed means to safeguard Indian projects.