EAM Jaishankar to visits Russia on Sunday; talks with Lavrov, First Deputy PM on cards

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to travel to Russia next week, where he will co-chair a crucial trade and economic commission meeting. The Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) will hold its 27th session, with Jaishankar leading the proceedings. The Indian delegation is visiting during August 23-24, at the invitation of Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

During his visit, Jaishankar will have the opportunity to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss a range of regional and global issues. India and Russia maintain two key inter-governmental commissions, one focusing on trade and technology-related matters, and the other on defence and military cooperation. These bodies are among the highest decision-making entities in bilateral relations between the two nations.

The last meeting of the IRIGC-TEC took place in Moscow in August 2025, where India expressed concerns over the imbalance in bilateral trade flows. While trade between the two countries reached a record high of $68.7 billion in 2024-25, Indian exports remained stagnant at $4.88 billion. India called on Russia to address tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, resolve logistics bottlenecks, promote connectivity through various corridors, and implement smooth payment mechanisms to help tackle the trade imbalance and strive for a $100 billion trade target by 2030.

Rezaul Hasan Laskar serves as the Foreign Editor for the Hindustan Times, a position he has held since joining the publication in 2015. Prior to his role at the Times, Laskar worked as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong, India, and later in New Delhi. His journalistic career spans various domains, including defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir, and the northeast.

He has also covered foreign policy and international relations. Laskar has accompanied Prime Ministers on foreign visits and has reported from diverse locations, ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. He spent a significant period covering Pakistan as a correspondent for the Press Trust of India between 2007 and 2013. Laskar's early career included writing a weekly music column, and he remains passionate about classic rock music, photography, and movies.