india

Updated: Aug 30, 2017 20:46 IST

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will travel to Russia next week to attend the third Eastern Economic Forum in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.

Swaraj will travel to Russia at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev, according to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here.

During her visit from September 5 to 7, Swaraj will participate in the opening ceremony of the Forum on September 6 as well as hold bilateral meetings with Trutnev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Governors of some of the Far Eastern Regions, among other engagements, the statement added.

Sitharaman, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, will be accompanied by a business delegation.

During her visit from September 5 to 8, Sitharaman will participate in the high level India-Russia Business Dialogue as well as have bilateral meetings with Russian Ministers, including the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.

She will also participate in a panel discussion and preside over the launch ceremony of the ‘Russia Desk’ in Invest India during the Forum.

The ministers’ visit “reflects the importance attached by India to emerging opportunities in the Russian Far East, and to its strategic partnership with Russia,” the statement said.

The high-level Indian participation in the Forum follows the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Guest of Honour at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June.