Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov begins 2-day India visit

New Delhi: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov began a two-day visit to India on Monday primarily to attend an inter-governmental meeting on trade, culture and science and technology.

Manturov is Russia's minister for trade and industry as well.

On Monday, the co-chairs of the intergovernmental Russia-India commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation will meet with the business representatives from both countries, said a Russian official.

A plenary meeting of the inter governmental commission (IGC) will be held on Tuesday, following which the co-chairs will sign the final protocol of the 24th IGC meeting, he said.

Both sides plan to discuss the "widest range" of issues of bilateral trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation, the Russian official said.

Manturov is also scheduled to hold a number of bilateral meetings during his stay in Delhi.

His visit comes in the backdrop of renewed intensity in India-Russia trade ties, especially New Delhi's procurement of increasing volume of discounted crude oil from that country.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.