On the last day of his two-day visit to India, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday. This is the 23rd annual India-Russia Summit.
Putin is on his first visit to India in four years as Delhi negotiates a trade deal with the US to reduce punitive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on its goods over India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Putin’s visit to India Day 2: Itinerary
11:00 am: Gala reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan
1130: Wreath laying at Rajghat
1150: Meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House
1:50 pm: Press statements at Hyderabad House
07:00 PM: Meeting with President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan
Putin arrived in India a day after he held talks with Trump’s top envoys about a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, but failed to reach a compromise.
India has resisted condemning Russia for the war and called for peace through dialogue and diplomacy, saying its relations with Moscow have been unfairly targeted by Western countries that continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interests.
Putin’s visit to India Day 2: What’s on the agenda?
The summit aims to boost trade with Russia’s biggest arms and naval oil buyer as Western sanctions strain their decades-old ties, according to Reuters.
Moscow has been India’s leading arms supplier for decades and has said it wants to import more Indian goods in a bid to boost trade to $100 billion by 2030, which has so far been skewed in its favor due to New Delhi’s energy imports.
Modi and Putin are expected to discuss other topics, including labor and civilian nuclear power, with the two sides expected to announce new deals that will showcase the resilience of their relationship.
