'Second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue to focus on agri development, agro-processing'

The second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) will focus on six core areas of cooperation including development of agriculture and agro-processing sector, an official said on Tuesday. The second meeting of the IRSED will be held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and Russia Deputy Minister of the Economic Development Timur Maksimov.

The meeting will also focus on development of transport infrastructure and technologies, small and medium business support, digital transformation and frontier technologies, cooperation in trade, banking, finance, and industry, and tourism and connectivity, according to the statement. The IRSED was established following a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Niti Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19th edition of the Annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held on October 5, 2018, in New Delhi.

The first India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in St Petersburg between November 25 and November 26, 2018.