NSA Ajit Doval in Russia; Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, energy security on agenda
(File photo) NSA Ajit Doval
Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval paid an unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday to assess progress and recent developments in bilateral relations as India continues to deepen its engagement with Russia on regional and international concerns.
During his two-day visit to Moscow, Doval will meet with Russian officials, notably his counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, to discuss a number of regional and international concerns, including Afghanistan, counterterrorism, defence, and food and energy security in the wake of the Ukraine war.
Nevertheless, the visit was not formally acknowledged. Sources revealed that the visit is part of ongoing discussions between the nations on "strategic bilateral, regional, and global issues." India has recently increased its imports of both oil and fertilisers despite demands from the West to limit its crude purchases from Russia.
In June, Russia beat Saudi Arabia to become the country's second-largest oil exporter to India, according to a Bloomberg article from the previous week. Last Monday, the foreign ministry reaffirmed that India will base its oil purchases on its needs for energy security.
In the sessions, the NSA will place specific emphasis on counterterrorism cooperation, particularly in relation to Afghanistan. On Thursday and Friday of this week in Uzbekistan, Doval is also set to attend a meeting of the top security officials of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states, where the situation in Afghanistan is likely to once again take centre stage.
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India continues to be concerned about the Taliban's connections to Pakistan-based terrorist organisations while cooperating with the Kabul administration on humanitarian problems and reopening its embassy there. According to official sources here, who quote a recent United Nations Security Council report, these organisations continue to run terror camps in Afghanistan under the Taliban.
The agenda for security-related topics on which the leaders of SCO nations will focus during the next summit next month in Samarkand will be finalised at the NSA conference of the SCO. The idea of an in-person SCO summit has not yet been ruled out, and if it does, PM Narendra Modi will meet physically with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif for the first time since the present border conflict with China began in May 2020.
(with inputs from agencies)
