Rajnath Singh on Wednesday left for Russia on a three-day visit to attend a crucial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday left for Russia on a three-day visit to attend a crucial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu on further boosting bilateral defence cooperation.

The defence ministers of all eight SCO member nations are expected to deliberate on regional security challenges like terrorism and extremism and ways to deal with them.

Rajnath Singh

The meeting is taking place under the shadow of a fierce border row between India and China.

Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe and Pakistan's Pervez Khattak are expected to attend the SCO meeting.

Asked about the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Singh and Wei on the sidelines of the SCO event, officials said there is no such plan.

"Heading to Moscow. During this visit, I shall be attending the combined meeting of Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) & CIS members in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of victory in the World War II," Singh tweeted.

Rajnath Singh tweetHe said issues of mutual interest will figure in his talks with Shoigu.

"India and Russia are privileged Strategic Partners. Looking forward to further this partnership during my visit," Singh said.

In the talks, both sides are expected to officially finalise a long-pending proposal to produce AK 203 rifles in India.

Officials said Singh is also likely to request the Russian side to ensure timely delivery of the S-400 missile defence systems to India.

The delivery of the first batch of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India is scheduled by the end of 2021.

Rajnath SinghSingh will depart for India from Moscow on the evening of September 5, they said.

The SCO defence ministers meeting is taking place in the wake of fresh tension between India and China following the Chinese army's unsuccessful attempts to change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh.

It is Singh''s second visit to Moscow since June. He had represented India at the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on June 24 that commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Russia has also invited External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting on September 10.