Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will review a wide range of bilateral ties, including in areas like defence, energy cooperation, education, investment, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, at the upcoming annual India-Russia summit, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Friday. The annual India-Russia summit is taking place after three years, and “we attach great importance to it,” Kwatra said. “The issue of early discharge of Indian nationals who have been misled into the service of the Russian Army is expected to figure in the discussions,” he added, PTI reported.
Modi is set to make a two-day official visit to Russia from July 8 to 9 at Putin’s invitation for the 22nd India-Russia summit, where they are expected to review the entire range of multi-faceted ties between the two countries. Putin will host a private dinner for Modi on his arrival.
The two leaders will also discuss “regional and global developments of mutual interest,” Kwatra revealed during a media briefing ahead of Modi’s visit to Russia for the summit, news agency PTI reported.
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Detailing the itinerary, Kwatra mentioned that Modi is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on the afternoon of July 8. The following day, the engagements of Modi will include meeting the Indian community in Russia, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Kremlin, and visiting the Rosatom pavilion at an exhibition in Moscow.
“These engagements will be followed by restricted-level talks between the two leaders, which will then be followed by delegation-level talks led by the honourable prime minister and the Russian President,” he added.
Modi To Make His Visit To Austria, First PM To Visit In 41 Years
After his Russia visit, Modi will also travel to Austria, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 41 years, as announced by the Ministry of External Affairs. This will be Modi’s first visit to Russia in nearly five years, with his last visit being in 2019 for an economic conclave in Vladivostok, and his first since the Ukraine conflict began.
There have been a total of 21 annual summits between India and Russia, alternating between the two countries. The last summit took place on December 6, 2021, in New Delhi, attended by Putin. “The 22nd annual summit between India and Russia would provide an opportunity to the two leaders to review the whole range of bilateral issues, including defence, trade linkages, investment ties, energy cooperation, S&T, education, culture and people-to-people exchanges,” the foreign secretary said, news agency PTI reported.
Currently, both sides are working on a “series of outcome documents” which would be the result of this annual summit, he added. Kwatra stated that the two leaders met in 2022 in Samarkand on the margins of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan since the last summit. “They have also stayed in touch with each other through several telephonic conversations through these years,” he said.
The leaders will also evaluate bilateral engagements within groupings such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), G20, East Asia Summit, and the UN, and discuss cooperation across various range of areas.
The last summit resulted in 28 MoUs and agreements, along with a joint statement titled “India-Russia Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity”. Modi will leave Moscow for Vienna in the afternoon of July 9, Kwatra said.
“India and Russia have had a special and privileged partnership since 2020 which has remained resilient in the wake of multiple geopolitical challenges that the world has been facing,” he said, PTI reported.
To steer and drive the cooperation between the two countries, this annual summit between the two leaders is the highest mechanism.
“Our bilateral exchanges with Russia have also remained fairly frequent over the last year. The two foreign ministers met several times last year, most recently they met the day before yesterday on the sidelines of the SCO. The EAM (external affairs minister) had also visited Moscow and St Petersberg in December last year. And, the two National Security Advisors have also met a few times last year,” Kwatra said.
India-Russia bilateral trade has seen a sharp increase in 2023-24, reaching nearly USD 65 billion, driven mainly by strong energy cooperation, Kwatra highlighted. On the second leg of his visit, Modi will be in Austria from July 9-10 at the invitation of the Austrian Chancellor. This marks the first visit to Austria by an Indian prime minister in over 40 years.
