Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives on two-day State Visit, received by PM Modi at airport

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on a two-day State Visit to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a special gesture, receiving him at the airport.

The two leaders warmly hugged and greeted each other at the tarmac before leaving the airport together in the same vehicle.

They also briefly watched and applauded a cultural performance as part of the welcome ceremony.

New Delhi has been lined with banners welcoming the Russian leader, marking the beginning of an engagement that carries significant diplomatic weight.

Later in the evening, PM Modi will host Putin for a private dinner at his residence, mirroring the gesture the Russian President made when he hosted PM Modi during the latter’s visit to Moscow last year. This marks Putin’s first trip to India since Russia’s war with Ukraine started in 2022.

The 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, scheduled for Friday, comes at a time when the US has imposed punitive sanctions on New Delhi, and will focus on strengthening defence cooperation, along with discussions on trade and energy partnerships.

On Friday, the Russian President will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan ahead of the formal talks that will take place at the Hyderabad House. Putin will also lay a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.

Leading to the visit, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov called the upcoming meeting during a private dinner between Putin and PM Modi as “one of the key points of the Russian leader’s visit,” Russian state-run news agency TASS reported on Wednesday. According to Ushakov, Putin will discuss important issues of bilateral ties and international situation with PM Modi.

He stated that Putin will also hold talks with PM Modi in a narrow and expanded format. Key aspects of trade and economic cooperation will be discussed and several agreements will be signed during Putin’s visit to India. According to Ushakov, India and Russia plan to sign a programme for the development of strategic areas of economic cooperation until 2030.

The visit is expected to yield multiple agreements, including one to facilitate the movement of Indian workers to Russia. The two governments may also deliberate on India’s proposed free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, which New Delhi has been pursuing to enhance strategic and economic cooperation.

Following the summit with PM Modi, President Putin will attend a state banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. He is also scheduled to launch the new India channel of Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT, signalling an expansion of media outreach and soft-power engagement.

The State Visit, stated the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia to review progress in bilateral relations, set the vision for strengthening the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. Development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India’s foreign policy. Since the signing of the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000, ties between two nations have acquired a qualitatively new character with enhanced levels of cooperation in almost all sectors, including political, security, defense, trade and economy, science and technology, culture, and people-to-people ties.

IANS