During the consultations held here on Monday between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trusted aide and former national security adviser (NSA) Nikolai Patrushev and shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the two sides explored bilateral cooperation in the civilian maritime sector, with a focus on collaboration in shipbuilding, port infrastructure and maritime logistics, ET has learnt.
At the meeting, particular attention was paid to issues related to crew training and deep-sea research activities, according to people familiar with the meeting.
“We can offer India interesting initiatives in shipbuilding, including providing existing or developing new designs for fishing, passenger and auxiliary vessels,” Patrushev emphasised during the meeting with Sonowal. “We have extensive experience in creating specialised ships – such as ice-class vessels, not to mention icebreakers, where Russia has no rivals whatsoever. There are opportunities for our cooperation in green shipbuilding, which is currently one of India’s main priorities in the maritime domain.”
Patrushev also held meetings with India’s NSA Ajit Doval and National Maritime Security coordinator Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta. India-Russia maritime cooperation will get a boost during the annual summit. It may be pointed out that India is trying to build vessels and tankers that will safeguard against sanctions.