Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's March 15-17 India visit would be the "most significant" foreign policy event in bilateral ties in next few months, with issues like economic cooperation to come up for discussion, the deputy foreign minister said Tuesday.
"The India visit of the Chairman of the Russian government Mikhail Fradkov would be the most significant foreign policy event in Moscow's relations with New Delhi in the coming months," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alekseev was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS.
Fradkov, an old India hand, would be the first top Russian leader to visit India shortly after US President George W Bush, who finalised a historic nuclear deal in New Delhi on March 2.
Alekseev said in New Delhi, Fradkov plans to discuss a "wide spectrum of issues, mainly concerning interaction in economic and other spheres".
The stage for the Russian prime minister's India talks was virtually set by the Russian Minister for Economic Development and Trade German Gref who visited India in early February, Alekseev said.
During Gref's visit, the two countries signed a protocol on the Russian Federation's accession to the World Trade Organisation and a memorandum on co-operation between the Russian ministry and Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry.
