Moscow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here today on a two-day visit during which India and Russia are expected to seal a raft of major deals in defence, nuclear energy and hydrocarbons sectors to further cement their ‘special and privileged strategic ties'.
Stepping up economic engagement and further expanding ties in strategic areas are likely to be the centerpiece of the 16th India-Russia annual summit talks, which are the second such between Modi and President Vladimir Putin besides deliberating on various global issues like situation in Syria and tackling threat of terrorism.
Setting the tone for the visit, Modi said Russia remained one of India's “most valued” friends in the world and that he was “very optimistic” about outcomes of the talks with Putin tomorrow.
“Our relation with Russia is unique, covering almost every field of human endeavour,” Modi said in a pre-departure statement in New Delhi.
The talks between the two countries, bound by ‘special and privileged strategic ties', have been taking place alternately in Moscow and New Delhi since 2000. “I am very optimistic about the outcome of this visit.
History is witness to the close ties India and Russia have had over the decades. Russia remains one of India's most valued friends in the world,” Modi said in a Facebook post.
He further said: “My visit will deepen the cooperation between India and Russia in the economic, energy and security spheres. We also want to increase cooperation in science and technology, mining among other sectors. “Trade ties between India and Russia can increase even further, to benefit not only our two nations but also the world.”
On the first day of Modi's arrival in Russia amid Christmas festivities, Putin will host a private dinner for the Prime Minister tonight. The two leaders will interact with a group of Indian and Russian CEOs tomorrow in Kremlin.
With Russia's economy badly hit by the Western sanctions in the wake of Ukraine crisis, Putin is keen to expand economic ties with India, which, in turn, has been expressing keen interest in participating in oil and gas exploration projects in the Eurasian country.
The volume of current bilateral trade between the two countries is around USD 10 billion and both sides were aiming to take it to USD 30 billion over the next 10 years.
The Prime Minister's engagement in Moscow also includes addressing a gathering of ‘Friends of India' and around 3,000 people are expected to attend the event tomorrow. He will visit Russia's National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) here tomorrow.
The NCMC is a multi-level coordination centre designed to provide inter-agency coordination and alert the people about the threat of emergency situations. Besides bilateral issues, Modi and Putin are likely to deliberate on a number of global issues having political dimensions including the situation in Syria and ways to tackle terrorism.
It will be Modi's second summit with Putin who had travelled to New Delhi last year for the 15th India-Russia Summit.
India is also likely to push for a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Zone and is sharing details of study it conducted in this regard.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, without giving specific details, had yesterday said that both Modi and Putin will deliberate on enhancing cooperation in defence and nuclear energy speheres.
Last week, India's Defence Ministry's top acquisition council had cleared the purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems at an estimated cost of Rs 40,000 crore.
On whether India will request Russia to share details on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, he said the issue had figured during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's recent visit to Moscow.
“Let's wait and see what happens. I do not prejudge the Russian response till we get it,” he had said.
