Ajit Doval in Moscow: NSA meets Russia's First Deputy PM; discusses ties, joint projects

NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to review the bilateral military-technical cooperation and progress on joint projects in key strategic sectors.

According to the Russian government’s press service, the discussions, which took place on Friday, covered defence collaboration as well as initiatives in civil aviation, metallurgy, and the chemical industry.

Manturov, who oversees Russia’s defence industry and trade, co-chairs the India–Russia Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Cultural Cooperation with external affairs minister S Jaishankar.

The meeting came a day after Doval, a former Intelligence Bureau director, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reaffirm New Delhi’s commitment to broad-based cooperation with Moscow. Sources said Doval also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation for Putin to visit India, an invitation which the Russian leader accepted.

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The NSA's visit comes in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s decision to double tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 50 per cent in retaliation for India’s continued purchase of Russian oil despite Moscow's war in Ukraine. On Friday, PM Modi and Putin spoke by phone, reiterating their resolve to further deepen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two nations.