PM Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day official visit to participate in the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit with President Vladimir Putin. The meeting on Tuesday will mark their 17th encounter in the past decade, following their last in-person meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022. In 2019, PM Modi was awarded Russia’s highest state honor, the “Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First.
India and Russia have shared a longstanding and robust relationship, with over 77 years of diplomatic ties. Their relationship was elevated to a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” in 2010.
Following his visit to Russia, PM Modi will travel to Austria, marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 40 years.
President Vladimir Putin will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, both one-on-one and with delegations, according to a top Russian official. “Around noon, Putin and Modi will begin their discussions. We expect both a private conversation and official Russian-Indian talks over breakfast,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the state-owned TASS news agency.
On Tuesday, Modi will co-chair the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit with President Putin. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, stated that upon his arrival in Moscow, Prime Minister Modi was greeted by the First Deputy Prime Minister and received a ceremonial welcome with a Guard of Honour. The First Deputy Prime Minister then accompanied him to the hotel, where PM Modi was warmly welcomed by a large gathering of Indian community members. In the evening, President Putin will host a private dinner for him.
In honor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, the Ostankino TV Tower, one of Moscow’s famous landmarks, was illuminated in the colors of the Indian and Russian flags on Monday. Standing at 1,771 feet (540 meters), the Ostankino TV Tower is the world’s fourth tallest and Europe’s tallest of its kind. Constructed in 1967 by renowned Soviet engineer Nikolai Nikitin, it remains a prominent symbol of Russian broadcasting and a popular landmark in Moscow, attracting visitors from around the world.
