PM Narendra Modi meets Russian President Putin at Presidential Palace
PM Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day official visit to hold the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit with President Vladimir Putin.
PM Modi and President Putin have held 17th meeting in the past decade. Their last in-person meeting was at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022.
In 2019, PM Modi received Russia’s highest state honour, the “Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First.”
India and Russia share a longstanding and strong relationship, with over 77 years of diplomatic ties. In 2010, their relationship was elevated to a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”
After his visit to Russia, PM Modi will head to Austria, marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 40 years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed PM Modi at his official residence at Novo-Ogaryovo for a “private engagement” during which he praised the visiting Indian leader for the work he has done for the country’s progress, reports PTI.
“I would like to congratulate you on your reelection as prime minister. I think this is not an accident, but the result of your work over many years,” Putin told Modi as they held an informal meeting in a residence outside Moscow.
“You have your own ideas. You are a very energetic person, able to achieve results in the interests of India and the Indian people,” Putin said. “The result is obvious.”
“India firmly ranks as the world’s third-largest economy,” Putin was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.