Moscow:

Russia and India are aiming to take their bilateral ties to an all-time high, and for this, Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to visit India soon, said Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. “Preparations are being made for the President’s visit,” he confirmed in a televised address today.

Mr Lavrov said that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made his first foreign visit to Russia after being re-elected for his third consecutive term. Now it is our turn.” He added that “Arrangements are currently being made for President Vladimir Putin to visit India.” However, he did not specify the month or date when the visit might take place.

During his visit to Russia last year, Prime Minister Modi had invited the Russian President for an official state visit. “President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to visit from the Indian head of government. A visit by the Russian head of state to the Republic of India is being planned,” Mr Lavrov said.

Mr Lavrov’s remarks came at a conference titled “Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda”. The meeting was organised by the Russian International Affairs Council or RIAC.

This would be President Putin’s first visit to India since the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022. The visit is expected to take forward President Putin’s “new economic roadmap” for 2030. India and Russia have agreed to doubling their bilateral trade to over $100 billion annually.

Both countries have also agreed to significantly expand trade routes between the two Asian giants. The Chennai-Vladivostok maritime trade corridor will play a key part in providing fresh supplies from Russia to India. Bilateral trade between the two countries currently stands at approximately $60 billion annually.

Just this week, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had confirmed that Moscow is aiming to completely redefine the bilateral partnership with New Delhi. Russia aims to expand on its current ties and develop a “special and privileged strategic partnership” with India, he had said.

In his most recent message to President Droupadi Murmu, President Putin had written, “Russia-India relations are based on a special and privileged strategic partnership. I am confident that we will use joint efforts to continue to consistently build up productive bilateral cooperation across all areas, as well as constructive interaction in international affairs. Without a doubt, this meets the fundamental interests of our friendly peoples and is in line with the efforts to form a fair, multi-polar international order.”