(MENAFN) Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has officially opened new Indian consulates in Kazan and Ekaterinburg on Wednesday, marking a notable expansion of India’s diplomatic presence in Russia.

Jaishankar is visiting Russia to take part in the Council of Heads of Government gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and to lay groundwork for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forthcoming trip to India in December.

According to Jaishankar, “The opening of the consulate [s] will give an impetus to enable and to strengthen the technological, scientific, economic, and trade collaboration between Indian and Russian industries,” emphasizing that the initiative is aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors.

This development forms part of a broader Indian strategy to widen its diplomatic scope throughout Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

India already operates consulates in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, in addition to its primary embassy in Moscow.

Jaishankar also highlighted the strategic relevance of Ekaterinburg—the administrative center of the Sverdlovsk region—within Russia’s industrial landscape, noting that it is frequently recognized as the country’s “third capital” and a crucial gateway to Siberia.

He pointed out the area’s strengths in heavy machinery, gem refinement, defence manufacturing, metallurgy, nuclear materials, chemical production, and medical devices.

He further remarked that the establishment of the new Consulate would intensify existing technological, scientific, economic, and commercial cooperation.

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