Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India on Dec 6 for summit talks with PM Modi

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India for summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 6, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday. 

This will be the first in-person meeting between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brasilia in November 2019.

The MEA also announced that the first '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial dialogue between India and Russia will be held on December 6 as well.

Both the countries have a mechanism under which India's prime minister and the Russian president hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties.

At a media briefing, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that Putin will pay an official visit to India on December 6 for the 21st India-Russia annual summit.

During the summit, the leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations between the two nations and will discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi announced on Friday.

"Russian President Vladamir Putin will pay an official visit to New Delhi on December 6 for 21st India, Russia annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Bagchi said during a weekly press briefing.

The summit will offer an opportunity to exchange views on regional multilateral and international issues of mutual interests, Bagchi noted.

"The visit will further provide an impetus to India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership," Bagchi said.

The leaders will exchange views on topical issues on the international agenda, including joint work within the G20, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Russian Embassy

The summit was postponed last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So far 20 Annual Summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.

So far India has the '2+2' ministerial format of dialogue with the US, Japan and Australia. A framework for military-technical cooperation is set to be renewed for the next decade at the summit besides announcing a joint commission on technology and science.

India and Russia have also reached the final phase of negotiation for a logistics support agreement and it is likely to be signed either during the two-plus-two talks or at the summit.

The pact will allow militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. Russia has been a time-tested partner for India and the country has been a key pillar of New Delhi's foreign policy. 

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