PM Modi Visits Russia, Meets President Putin at St. Petersburg

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (June 1, 2017) met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 18th Annual India Russia Summit at St. Petersburg, where he recalled his first visit to St. Petersburg as Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001. He said ties between India and Russia span the spectrum from Culture to Defence.

The Prime Minister said 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries have been marked by a high degree of convergence on various bilateral and global matters.

The Prime Minister described the St. Petersburg Declaration, issued on Thursday, as a benchmark of stability in a turbulent, interdependent and interconnected world. He said India’s participation as a guest country in SPIEF and his address there tomorrow would further deepen economic cooperation between the two nations.

The Prime Minister described energy cooperation as one of the cornerstones of the relationship between India and Russia, and noted that this cooperation in the nuclear, hydrocarbon, and renewable energy sectors has been considerably deepened by the discussion and decisions taken today. In this context he mentioned the agreement of Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

The Prime Minister emphasized the role of the private sector in enhancing trade and commerical ties between the two countries, adding that India and Russia are close to achieving the target of 30 billion US dollars worth of investment by 2025.

Speaking on the theme of connectivity, the Prime Minister mentioned cooperation between the two countries in the International North South Transport Corridor. Among other initiatives, the Prime Minister mentioned the forthcoming first Tri-services exercise – INDRA 2017, between the two countries.

He announced that a road in Delhi has been renamed after Ambassador Alexander Kadakin, whom he described as a friend of India, who passed away recently.

India, Russia to Celebrate 2017 as Year to Mark 70-Years of Friendship, Ties

India and Russia will celebrate 2017 is a special year of completion of 70 years of diplomatic relations with several programs and events scheduled throut the year.

On 13 April 1947, four months before India’s independence, diplomatic relations were established by India with Russia, then USSR. Over the last seven decades, bilateral relations have seen strong and special Strategic Partnership.

Pankaj Saran, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation, said, “2017 will be a joint celebration of a long and successful journey together, in which India and Russia have stood side by side with each other as true partners and friends. The Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre will be separately announcing details of individual events.”

During the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India in October 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin agreed to commemorate this important occasion and adopted a Roadmap for its celebrations, including series of events planned in Russia and in India during 2017.

The events include seminars, discussions, exhibitions, exchanges and many other activities and the Indian embassy in Russia has unveiled a special logo to mark the anniversary. India will also be the Guest Country at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum to held in June 2017.

India’s cultural program “Namaste Russia!” will be vrought to different cities of Russia to showcase the glimpses of India’s rich cultural heritage in the form of world famous musicians, artists and classical music and dance, said the embassy. It will host an ‘India Week’ in St. Petersburg in late May to bring the best of Indian culture, dance, yoga and cuisine.

The performances under Namaste Russia will include:

Sitar maestro Ustad Shujaat Hussain Khan;
The Shillong Chamber Choir;
The Sufi dance and music of the Nizami Brothers;
Shubhra Bhardwaj Bollywood Group;
Indian Fusion group ‘Indian Ocean’;