Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three- day visit to Vladivostok in Russia this evening to take part in the 5th Eastern Economic Forum – EEF summit. The Prime Minister will also attend the 20th annual summit between Russia and India during the visit. In his departure statement, Prime Minister said his visit to Vladivostok is the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the Far East Region of Russia. He said the EEF summit presents enormous potential for developing close and mutually beneficial cooperation between Rusia and India in this region. He further said, Our strong partnership is complemented by a desire to promote a multipolar world and the two countries closely cooperate towards this end in regional and multilateral fora. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said, a gamut of issues related to enhancing cooperation in several areas are expected to figure during Prime Minister’s bilateral talks with Russian leadership. Gokhale said India and Russia will chalk out a five year road map 2020-24 to enhance cooperation in exploration and exploitation of oil and gas during the Prime Minister’s visit. PSUs like the Coal India Limited and Steel Authority of India Limited are expected to sign Letters of Intent and MoUs with Russian entities in this regard. Several other MoUs are also expected to be signed on the occasion.
