On his two-day visit to Russia, the first since the Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that India is committed to a peaceful and stable region. President Vladimir Putin hosted a private dinner for Modi before their deliberations at the 22nd India-Russia summit in Moscow. This visit is the first by Modi since 2019 and his first bilateral trip abroad in his third term, which further underlines the deepening strategic partnership between the two nations.
The talks will also discuss increasing the bilateral relationship in areas like trade, energy, and defense, apart from deliberating on the Ukraine situation. Modi remarked that the India-Russia partnership was across several dimensions, including energy, security, trade, education, culture, and a whole host of other bilateral issues.
"I look forward to reviewing the entire gamut of our bilateral cooperation with President Putin and exchanging views on diverse regional and global issues," Modi said in his departure remarks.
Modi not only reaffirmed India's position on the special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia but further urged that permanent solutions need to be adopted through dialogue and diplomatic ways to settle the Ukraine crisis. Modi hoped to meet with the very active Indian community in Russia during the six-nation Asian tour.
Following his Russian visit, Mr. Modi will be in Austria, where he becomes the first Prime Minister in over forty years to make an official visit. He stated that Austria was a reliable partner and democracy and pluralism bound the two countries with similar values.
"I look forward to discussing ways to elevate our partnership in innovation, technology and sustainable development," Modi said regarding his forthcoming visit to Austria.
Ahead of the visit by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to the intensive agenda, he added, and further talked about both official negotiations and informal communication between the leaders.
The annual India-Russia summit is the highest institutionalized dialogue between the two countries held alternately in India and Russia. The previous one conducted in New Delhi in December 2021 came out with 28 MoUs and a joint statement it titled "India-Russia Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity."
The two leaders last met bilaterally during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan this September, during which Modi had implored Putin to find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict. Ever since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, Modi has kept up the dialogue with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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