Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India on December 4 for annual summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to India from December 4 to 5 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra ModiAn official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said that ldquoDuring the visit Putin will attend the 23rd IndiaRussia Annual Summit and hold talks with PM Modirdquo as reported by news agency ANIAs per the information received by MEA President Murmu will also receive Putin and host a banquet in his honourldquoRussian President Vladimir Putin will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia to review progress in bilateral relations outline the vision for strengthening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interestrdquo the MEA statement saidThe upcoming visit of the Russian President will mark his first visit to India since 2021 PM Modi and Putin last met in person on September 1 this year in Tianjin China on the sidelines of the SCO SummitFurthermore the Kremlin has described Putins upcoming visit to India as an important moment for both nations Russian state news agency TASS cited a Kremlin statement The visit is of great importance providing an opportunity to comprehensively discuss the extensive agenda of RussianIndian relations within the particularly privileged strategic partnership in the political trade economic scientific technological cultural and humanitarian spheres as well as to consider topical international and regional issues as cited by news agency ANIThe statement from Russian authorities further asserted that these issues will be at the heart of negotiations with the Indian delegation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as cited by news agency ANIBuilding on this announcement the Ministry of External Affairs had yesterday said that preparations for the annual summit are already underway with Putins December arrival aligning with the state visit outlined by the MEAFurthermore the MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responding to media queries during the weekly briefing said that dates will be announced soon and noted that both nations are working to further strengthen bilateral tiesEarlier last week the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Putin in Moscow ahead of the annual summit Union Minister for External Affairs Jaishankar had also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modis greetings during the meetingFollowing the discussions Jaishankar while posting on social media said that I was honoured to call on President Putin of Russia in Moscow today Conveyed greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Apprised him of preparations underway for the upcoming Annual IndiaRussia Summit Also discussed regional and global developments Deeply value his perspectives and guidance on further advancement of our tiesWith inputs from ANI