Last Updated: May 04, 2023, 17:26 IST
EAM S Jaishankar (right) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hold talks on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Goa. (Image: Russian Foreign Ministry)
The two-day SCO foreign ministerial meeting began with a gala reception at a luxury beach resort in Goa on Thursday while the main deliberations will take place on Friday
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in India to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, on Thursday met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at a resort in Goa. During bilateral talks on the sidelines of the SCO meeting, Jaishankar jokingly asked Lavrov if he had an opportunity to get some rest and a suntan in the state known for its beaches.
Responding to Jaishankar, Lavrov said, with a smile, that he had about one hour and a half for that and then asked him not to tell anybody about it. “Don’t tell anybody,” Lavrov smiled and told Jaishankar as per the Russian media.
The two-day SCO foreign ministerial meeting began with a gala reception at a luxury beach resort in Goa on Thursday while the main deliberations will take place on Friday.
India has been pressing Russia to urgently address the trade imbalance that has been in favor of Moscow. India’s trade deficit with Russia jumped significantly in the last few months after it procured significant volumes of discounted crude oil from that country in the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis.
Lavrov’s visit to India came a day after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in an unsuccessful attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin.
About SCO Summit
India is hosting the SCO in its capacity as the grouping’s chair.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations. It was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
(with inputs from PTI)
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