New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a virtual meeting on Monday with Denis Manturov, deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and minister of Trade and Industry and co-chair of the India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

The EAM and Russian Minister reviewed the progress achieved in the various Working Groups and Sub-Group Meetings under the IRIGC-TEC framework since their meeting in Moscow in November 2022 and gave guidance to prepare the ground for the next in-person meeting of IRIGC-TEC which will be held in New Delhi at mutually convenient dates.

The two sides agreed to work together to unlock the full potential of India-Russia bilateral trade and economic relations including by addressing the trade deficit and market access issues.

"Pleased to co-chair a virtual meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation with DPM Denis Manturov. Noted the expansion of trade and discussed trade deficit and market access issues," EAM Jaishankar tweeted.

The Inter-governmental Commission is a mechanism for regularly monitoring bilateral progress across the sectors of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries which was set up by an Agreement on inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation signed in May 1992. The first session of IRIGC was held on 13 and 14 September 1994. So far, 23 IRIGC meetings have been held.

The 23rd Session of IRIGC was held on 14 September 2018 in Moscow. The 24th IRIGC-TEC meeting will be hosted by India and today's review meeting will pave the way for the same.