India and Russia held discussions on key strategic issues such as nuclear energy, space and defence, apart from deliberations on the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iran and other regions.
During the “Comprehensive Foreign Office Consultations”, the two sides discussed strategic sectors of cooperation such as nuclear energy, space and defence, along with other issues of bilateral significance in the economic, consular, protocol and cultural areas, release from the Ministry of External Affairs said here.
While the Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary, Mr Ranjan Mathai, Russian side was led by First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russian Federation, Mr I Denisov, in the consultations on Thursday.
The senior officials also discussed preparations for commemorating 65 years of diplomatic relations between India and Russia, which will be observed on April 13, this year.
“Regional and global issues were reviewed comprehensively during the consultations. Both sides discussed in detail the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iran and other regions,” it said.
Mr Mathai and Mr Denisov also discussed bilateral cooperation in multilateral fora including the UN, G—20, SCO, East Asia Summit and BRICS— particularly the next BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
They agreed to continue close consultations, including through focused meetings on specific issues and regions.