Foreign Secretary Holds Telephonic Conversation With Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov held a telephonic conversation on Tuesday, covering a range of bilateral, regional and international issues.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said they discussed the forthcoming meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the five-nation BRICS grouping.

It said Shringla and Morgulov also deliberated on preparatory meetings ahead of the India-Russia annual summit later this year.

"The foreign secretary and the deputy foreign minister also exchanged views on various regional and international issues of mutual interest reflecting common ground and approaches. Both sides agreed to maintain regular contacts," the MEA said in a statement.

Both the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) and SCO are important groupings for India. The BRICS represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world population and they have a combined GDP of $16.6 trillion.

The SCO, seen as a counterweight to NATO, has emerged as one of largest transregional international organisations which accounts for almost 44 per cent of the world population stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean and from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea.

The aim of the SCO is to maintain peace, stability and security in the region. India became a member of the SCO in 2017.