By IANS,
New Delhi : Nearly a fortnight after India sealed its nuclear deal with the US, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives here Monday on a daylong visit that will set the stage for the signing of a bilateral nuclear pact with Moscow later this year.
Lavrov will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on a wide range of bilateral and global issues, including defence, counter-terrorism and civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
They are expected to sign a protocol on holding regular consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, the external affairs ministry said in a statement Friday.
Mukherjee and Lavrov last met in New York Sep 28 on the sidelines of the 63rd meeting of the UN General Assembly.
This will be the first high-level meeting between the two countries after India and the US inked a landmark civil nuclear cooperation accord.
“Civil nuclear cooperation between India and Russia will figure prominently in the discussions,” an official source said.
The two ministers are likely to discuss the signing of the India-Russia civil nuclear cooperation pact which is expected to be inked during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to New Delhi in December.