Conveyed PM Modi’s Personal Message: Jaishankar On Meeting Putin Ahead Of SCO, BRICS Summits

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday and conveyed a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as India and Russia reviewed bilateral cooperation ahead of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS summits.

Jaishankar, who was on a two day visit to Russia, said he handed over Modi’s personal communication to Putin and briefed the Russian president on the discussions held at the 27th India Russia Inter Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation.

“Prime Minister Modi looks forward to meeting you at the SCO Summit, then welcoming you to India for the BRICS Summit,” Jaishankar told Putin. He also referred to the possibility of the two leaders holding their annual summit later this year.

Putin, in turn, asked Jaishankar to convey his best wishes to Modi and said he hoped to meet the Indian prime minister at the upcoming SCO summit. The Russian president also indicated that another meeting between the two leaders could take place later this year.

The 2026 SCO Summit is scheduled for August 31 and September 1 in Kyrgyzstan, while India is set to host the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. Putin is expected to travel to India for the BRICS gathering.

During his meeting with Putin, Jaishankar highlighted the broadening India Russia partnership, including cooperation in trade, energy, fertilisers, nuclear power and high technology. He said the two countries had a strong picture of cooperation to present and that economic engagement had grown significantly.

Putin separately assured India that Russia would continue and increase fertiliser supplies, saying Moscow was doing everything possible to meet the needs of Indian farmers and the agricultural sector. The assurance comes amid disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia crisis and concerns over the movement of essential commodities.

Putin also said Russia-India trade had increased this year after declining slightly last year. He highlighted fertilisers, energy, nuclear cooperation and high technology as important areas of the bilateral relationship.

The economic discussions came as Jaishankar and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov co-chaired the 27th IRIGC TEC meeting. Jaishankar said bilateral trade had increased four fold in five years, from around USD 13 billion in 2021 22 to nearly USD 60 billion in 2025 26.

However, he raised concerns over the widening trade imbalance, which has grown from USD 6.6 billion to more than USD 50 billion. Jaishankar said correcting this imbalance was one of India's foremost priorities.

He called for greater market access, removal of tariff and non tariff barriers, stronger payment mechanisms and deeper business to business engagement to address the imbalance and help achieve the target of USD 100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

Jaishankar also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his Moscow visit. In their latest talks, the two foreign ministers discussed bilateral cooperation, regional hotspots, global challenges and multilateral issues. According to reports citing Russia's Foreign Ministry, the situation involving Ukraine, Iran and Afghanistan also figured in their discussions.

Jaishankar described his conversation with Lavrov as wide ranging and said the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation, regional developments, global challenges and multilateral issues.