Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Russia is very important Kremlin said on July 2, 2024, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin would discuss regional and global security along with bilateral ties and trade. The Kremlin had earlier said in early 2024 that PM Modi had an open invitation to visit Russia.
Moscow had described India as longtime friend of Russia and said that the latter has a special strategic partnership with New Delhi. Moscow’s permanent ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia on July 1, 2024 said, “We have relations of special privileges, strategic partnership with India. India is along time friend of Russia. We cooperate in so many different areas and I think that the that will be a substantial conversation on the whole range of issues that our countries cooperate on.”
Nebenzia had said that there would be serious messages coming out of it in the form of joint documents. “I expect the Russian-Indian relations to blossom even better,” said the envoy. The visit will be PM Modi’s first official trip to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit was in 2019 for an economic conclave in Vladivostok. While there is no official confirmation from India, a kremlin official stated that preparations are underway.
Yuri Ushakov, an assistant to President Putin, confirmed that they are preparing for the visit, but didn’t specify the dates. Diplomatic sources suggest that the visit may occur on July 8, but the dates are not finalised. If PM Modi visits Russia, he and Putin will hold the annual India-Russia Summit which has not taken place for three years.
The Summit is a key dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two nations, with 21 summits held so far in India and Russia alternately. In the bilateral talks between New Delhi and Moscow, Indians living in Russia are seeking to build a Hindu temple in Russia, ahead of PM Modi’s visit to the Kremlin.
As key members of the International-North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) Russia has sent two trains laden with Coal to India via this corridor, said a Russian national railway company. A multimodal route that includes a railway, roadway network and sea ports, the INSTC spans 7,200kms from Leningrad to the port of Mumbai in India. The corridor is part of Russia’s push to find new transport routes in light of Western sanctions.
The development of the INSTC which connects India to Russia through the Chabahar Port is also viewed by international relations experts and security analysts as an alternative to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Suez Canal trade route.
The Chabahar port is a key node for the INSTC. It will change the face of regional connectivity, trade with landlocked countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan. It will also enable the landlocked Central Asian nations to get access to warm water ports. It will allow Indian traders and merchants gain access to the markets of Central Asia, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the Baltic and Nordic countries along with Caucasus region of Russia.
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