Moscow [Russia]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Moscow for a two-day official visit to Russia on the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
PM Modi was received by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Denis Manturov.
Manturov is senior to the Deputy Prime Minister who received the Chinese President during his visit to Russia. In a rare gesture, the first Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Manturov will also accompany PM Modi to the hotel from the airport in the same car.
PM Modi and the Russian President will hold a meeting today. PM Modi will attend a community event in Moscow on Tuesday.
Ahead of PM Modi's visit, the Indian diaspora expressed enthusiasm to welcome PM Modi. Earlier, Savika, a member of the Indian diaspora said, "I am very excited. I have seen him (PM Modi) only on TV and this will be the first time I will see him in person and I am very happy that the Prime Minister is coming here."
Young members of the Indian diaspora in Moscow also raised slogans of 'Vande Mataram' and cheered for PM Narendra Modi ahead of his arrival to the country.
Another student Anshika Singh, who has been living there for 11 years, said, "I am very honoured and excited to meet the Prime Minister."
Sidhu, hailing from Tamil Nadu, has been living for 17 years, and said, "I am very excited to meet PM Modi and I am very grateful to the embassy of India for giving us the opportunity to meet PM Modi."
Abir Imtiaz, who has been living in Moscow for 11 years asserted that he is feeling very proud. "I am feeling very honoured that our PM is coming to Moscow and we have the chance to meet him."
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Deepali Choudhary, hailing Bihar's Muzzafarpur said she has brought painting for PM Modi. "I wish him a warm welcome to Moscow and I hope he enjoys his time in Russia."
Speaking with ANI, Ananya Rai, hailing from UP, said she has been living in Russia for 10 years. She said, "I am really excited to meet PM Modi. This is the first opportunity that I have gotten from the Embassy as well as the school to meet the Prime Minister."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for a two-nation visit today, beginning with Moscow. In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs said "PM Narendra Modi sets off on a 2-nation visit to Russia and Austria. The first leg of the visit takes him to Moscow for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. An opportunity to further accelerate - partnership."
In his departure statement, PM Modi said, "Over the next three days, I will be in Russia and Austria. These visits will be a wonderful opportunity to deepen ties with these nations, with whom India has time-tested friendship. I also look forward to interacting with the Indian community living in these countries."
PM Modi said that he wishes to discuss aspects of bilateral cooperation with his friend President Putin.
"I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and sharing perspectives on various regional and global issues. We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region. The visit will also provide me with an opportunity to meet the vibrant Indian community in Russia," the PM said.
PM Modi added that the special and privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia has advanced over the past ten years, including in the areas of energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
Notably, PM Modi and Putin have met 16 times over the past 10 years. The last in-person meeting between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand in 2022. In 2019, PM Modi was conferred the highest Russian state honour 'Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First'.
Earlier on Sunday, India's Ambassador to India, Vinay Kumar said, "The program includes a private meeting with President Putin, delegation-level talks, restricted talks, lunch on hosted by President Putin for Prime Minister and his delegation, visit to an exhibition center in the VDNKH Complex, Rosatom Pavilion, and also exchange of documents which we are preparing to sign and exchange during the visit."
"Prime Minister will also address a gathering of Indian community members who are very eagerly looking forward to this visit to Moscow by Prime Minister after a gap of nine years. The last Prime Ministerial visit to Moscow was in 2015. So these are some of the important elements of the program," he added.
Notably, India and Russia have a longstanding and time-tested relationship with more than 77 years of mutually beneficial diplomatic ties. The relations between the two nations were elevated to the level of "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" in 2010.
After concluding his visit to Russia, PM Modi will depart for Austria in what is the first visit to the nation by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years.
In his departure statement, PM Modi stated, "In Austria, I will have the opportunity to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Austria is our steadfast and reliable partner and we share the ideals of democracy and pluralism." Earlier, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer took to X to extend a welcome to PM Modi for his visit to Austria.
"I very much look forward to welcoming @narendramodi, the Prime Minister of India, the world's largest democracy, next week in Vienna. This visit is a special honour as it marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in over forty years, and a significant milestone as we celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations with India. We will have the opportunity to talk about further deepening our bilateral relationship and closer cooperation on the many geopolitical challenges," Karl Nehammer said in a post on X.
—ANI