PM Modi Meets Japanese PM & Malaysian PM In Russia

Vladivostok: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and Malaysian counterpart Mahathir bin Mohamad and held discussion with them on various issues.

The meeting between prime minister Modi and Abe comes after they met at the G-20 Summit in Osaka in Japan and on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Biarritz in France.

"Continuous engagement for concrete bilateral ties. Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi meet in Vladivostok," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.

"A global partnership reinforced by robust bilateral ties. PM Narendra Modi met with PM Shinzo Abe on the margins of 5th EEF in Vladivostok. Discussed deepening multi-faceted ties in economic, defense and security, start-up and 5G areas and exchanged views on regional situation," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

After meeting his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Modi met the Malaysian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held here in the Russian Far East Region.

"Meetings continue in Vladivostok. Prime Ministers @chedetofficial and Narendra Modi discuss ways to diversify India-Malaysia cooperation for the benefit of people in both countries. Strengthening ties with an important ASEAN partner," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.

"PM Narendra Modi met with Malaysian PM @chedetofficial on the margins of EEF2019 in Vladivostok. Discussions focused on the multiple layers of India - Malaysian bilateral relationship," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

Modi arrived in Russia on Wednesday to participate in the 20th India-Russia annual summit and the EEF. On his arrival, Modi received a guard of honour at Vladivostok International Airport. He is the first Indian prime minister to visit to the Russian Far East Region.

The forum focuses on development of business and investment opportunities in the Russian Far East Region, and presents enormous potential for developing close and mutually beneficial cooperation between India and Russia in the region.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, briefing reporters on Prime Minister Modi's visit to Russia in New Delhi last week said that expanding cooperation in the hydrocarbons sector will be a major focus area during his trip to Vladivostok.

"The prime minister has said it on a number of times that we need to bring the relationship with Russia beyond civil nuclear and defence cooperation into other areas of the economy," he had said.