NEW DELHI, India, Nov. 20, Reuter: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Soviet counterpart Nikolai Ryzhkoy met alone for three hours on Friday during which they discussed international issues of mutual interest and the regional situation.
An official spokesman told reporters the: ‘three-hour meeting was held just after official delegations of the two countries met in a joint session.
The spokesman declined to give details of the private talk between the two leaders but said the delegations discussed expansion of economic and trade ties.
India and Soviet Union are pledged to doubling their trade to 755 billion dollars by 1992. The ‘Soviet Union is the largest supplier of arms to India and is the country’s biggest trading partner after the United States.
The spokesman said Ryzhkov also handed a personal message to Gandhi from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He did not reveal the contents of the message.
Ryzhkoy arrived yesterday. He is scheduled to have another round of talks with Gandhi before he leaves on November 25.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 27, 1987
