PM Modi Welcomes Putin; India-Russia Annual Summit Scheduled on Dec 6

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Thursday evening and Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the engagement by hosting a private dinner at his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Putin’s arrival marks the end of four years since his last trip, and is now drawing global attention on the upcoming India-Russia Summit due on Friday.

I am confident that today, we will discuss many important global issues. The economic ties between India and Russia should be further strengthened, and together, we should aim for new heights. With such a highly optimistic approach, we will advance our meeting. This is a strong conviction," Modi said.

The 23^rd annual summit will commence at 11.50 AM at the Hyderabad House, followed by press conference by Modi and Putin. Putin is also scheduled to attend a business event at the Bharat Mandapam and his last official engagement will be at the Rashtrapati Bhavan with President Droupadi Murmu for a banquet dinner, The Hindu reported.

Key Developments

On Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart held high level talks ahead of the summit and resolved to expand their bilateral defence cooperation. New Delhi showed keen interest in procuring additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to enhance combat prowess, PTI reported.

New Delhi and Moscow deliberated on ways to enhance the overall defence and strategic ties at a key delegation-level meeting between Singh and Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov.

Meanwhile, a report by Mint stated that Russia’s state-affiliated Delo Group is mulling to develop terminals on India’s inland waterways such as rivers and canals as well as at strategic ports including Momugao in Goa through joint ventures. The plan is expected to gain momentum with an agreement expected to be signed after Putin’s India visit this week.

"An Indian delegation comprising government officials and industry representatives will be shortly leaving for Moscow to finalize partnerships between Indian and Russian entities in shipbuilding, ship breaking, along with port and terminal development projects," Mint reported citing sources.