BRICS Summit: India, Russia agree to expand cooperation to stabilise Afghanistan

XIAMEN, CHINA: India and Russia on Monday agreed to expand cooperation to stabilise war-torn Afghanistan where both have stakes, besides exploring ways to further trade, investment and energy ties amid New Delhi’s attempt to expand presence in far eastern Russia where China has made inroads.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, which was the Indian leader’s first bilateral meet in Xiamen. The two leaders discussed Afghanistan’s situation among other regional issues, according to external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

People in the know said the two leaders discussed the security situation in the landlocked country with an aim to fighting terror and stabilising it. While India is looking to expand development projects in Afghanistan, Russia is engaged in addressing the politico-security situation in the country amid a surge in terror attacks there.

The Modi-Putin meeting – their second since June when the Indian PM travelled to Russia for the annual summit and St Petersburg International Economic Forum – was significant ahead of the Modi-Xi meeting on Tuesday. Russia is understood to have played a quiet role in defusing the crisis in Doklam ahead of the BRICS Summit.

The two leaders also discussed ways to expand bilateral trade and investment ties, energy ties including oil and natural gas, tourism and youth exchanges. Putin thanked Modi for India's high-level participation at the Eastern Economic Forum, being held in Vladivostok.

Amid growing Chinese presence in the resource-rich Russian far eastern region, Moscow has courted India by inviting Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), to be held in Vladivostok on September 6 and 7. Swaraj is leading a high-powered delegation to the forum as Russia looks to balance China's presence in its far eastern region. The delegation will also include more than 30 representatives of leading Indian companies. The Russia Desk, under the government’s investment promotion wing 'Invest India', will also be formally inaugurated on the occasion.

Russia is offering lots of tax sops and incentives to attract Indian investors and is looking at India as an alternative to an otherwise Sino-centric prospect in the far east.