Putin aide visits India for maritime cooperation talks (PHOTOS)

Russia is prepared to offer India a range of “interesting initiatives” in the maritime sector, including joint shipbuilding and repair clusters, senior Kremlin aide Nikolay Patrushev said during a visit to New Delhi on Monday.

Patrushev, who chairs Russia’s Maritime Board, held talks with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, National Coordinator for Maritime Security Biswajit Dasgupta and Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal.

The discussions focused on bilateral cooperation in the civilian maritime sector, including shipbuilding, port infrastructure, naval logistics, crew training, and ocean exploration, according to the Maritime Board.

The Kremlin aide noted that Moscow can offer New Delhi “interesting initiatives in shipbuilding, including providing existing or developing new designs for fishing, passenger and auxiliary vessels.” Russia has “extensive experience in creating specialized ships,” including icebreakers, where it is “unrivaled,” he added.

“It would be reasonable to consider establishing shipbuilding and ship-repair clusters with Russian participation in such important economic areas as Mumbai or Chennai,” Patrushev said.

READ MORE: Russian and Indian foreign ministers meet ahead of Putin’s New Delhi visit

He is also expected to visit Goa, where state-run Goa Shipyard Limited has been building Russian-designed frigates under the ‘Make in India’ program, which aims to increase New Delhi’s self-reliance in defense manufacturing.

The negotiations took place as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar for high-level economic and strategic talks in Moscow.

The talks come ahead of a planned bilateral summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India before the end of the year.