TEHRAN _ After a gap of more than a decade, regional giants India, China and Russia held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit on Friday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held the trilateral meeting after a gap of 12 years to discuss cooperation in various areas.

Leaders of the three countries called for reforms in multilateral bodies, including the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as they underlined the significance of a multilateral trading system and an open economy for global growth.

“Excellent meeting of the RIC (Russia, India, China) Trilateral. President Putin, President Xi Jinping and I discussed a wide range of subjects that would further cement the friendship between our nations and enhance world peace,” PM Modi said following the meeting.

“Deepening engagement with valued development partners. President Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping and PM @narendramodi participate in the RIC (Russia, India, China) trilateral in Buenos Aires. @KremlinRussia,” PM Modi's office tweeted.

In a statement, India's external affairs ministry said the three leaders exchanged views on expanding mutual cooperation in international forums, and to encourage greater interaction among the three countries.

The three leaders agreed to have regular consultations to jointly promote international and regional peace and stability, to strengthen cooperation through BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) mechanisms, to address global challenges such as terrorism and climate change, and to encourage peaceful resolution of all differences, the statement said.

Xi pointed out that China, Russia and India are all major countries of important influence, and they are each other's important strategic cooperation partners.

The three countries have extensive common interest and similar development goals, and bear great responsibility for the future of the region and the world as a whole, he added.

He called on the three countries to further advance trilateral cooperation in the face of fresh challenges and suggested that they advocate a new type of international relations, keep consolidating political mutual trust, establish partnerships instead of alliances, and strive for a virtuous cycle in major-country relations and win-win cooperation.

Russian President suggested holding regular meetings in the Russia-India-China format, including on the sidelines of major summits and international events.

“We believe that the Russia-India-China format of talks is very promising. The cooperation between the three countries may become effective supplement to bilateral cooperation between our countries and [the cooperation] under BRICS,” Putin said.

He invited Xi to next year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by becoming the event's main guest. Xi also invited him to attend the second edition of the Belt And Road Summit in late April 2019.

The Russia-India-China meeting came hours after PM Modi, his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump held their first trilateral meeting on the margins of the G-20 summit.