Moscow: Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Nikhil Khadse and Russian Deputy Sports Minister, Alexey Morozov, discussed deepening sports cooperation in multilateral formats.

Union Minister Khadse and Russian Deputy Sports Minister Morozov met on Friday.

"Smt. Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports met Mr. Alexey Morozov, Deputy Minster of Sports of the Russian Federation in Moscow and discussed deepening sports cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats," the Indian embassy in Moscow posted on X.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of ASEAN events in Laos' Vientiane on Friday.

In a picture shared by the Russian Embassy in India, Jaishankar and Lavrov were seen sharing a laugh as they shook hands.

The BRICS Games were held in the capital of Tatarstan from June 12 to 23.

Russian Deputy Sports Minister Alexey Morozov said about 4,000 participants from other countries were expected at the BRICS Games.

The BRICS sports ministers' meeting was held on June 22, which brought together representatives from China, UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, India, South Africa and Brazil.

"We expect about 5,000 participants, including more than 4,000 foreign participants. On behalf of the organising committee, the Russian Sports Ministry has formed the final sports programme taking into account the applications received. It includes 27 sports," Morozov said.

Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. The development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India's foreign policy.

(With Inputs From Agencies)