Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Thursday evening for his high-profile two-day State visit to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a special gesture, receiving him at the Palam Technical Airport.
During his India visit, Putin will attend the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit on Friday and hold talks with PM Modi.
Putin was given a red carpet welcome at the Airport and in a rare diplomatic gesture, PM Modi broke the standard protocol and went to the Airport and personally welcomed Putin upon his arrival amid tight security arrangements.
The two leaders shook hands and warmly hugged and greeted each other before departing from the airport together in the same car. They also briefly watched and applauded a cultural performance as part of the welcome ceremony.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Delighted to welcome my friend, President Putin to India. Looking forward to our interactions later this evening and tomorrow. India-Russia friendship is a time tested one that has greatly benefitted our people.”
Later in the evening, PM Modi hosted the Russian President for a private dinner at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence, mirroring the gesture Putin made when he hosted PM Modi during the latter’s visit to Moscow last year. The two leaders also held talks at the dinner table.
Putin’s visit will further boost strategic, defence, energy, and trade ties between the two nations.
This marks Putin’s first trip to India since Russia’s war with Ukraine started in 2022. Ahead of Putin’s arrival in Delhi, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov expressed confidence that Russia and India can reach their shared goal of achieving USD100 billion in trade turnover by 2030, citing rapid growth in recent years and expanding cooperation across multiple sectors.
During the high-profile visit, President Putin will hold key talks with PM Modi on Friday where many important agreements including trade and economy sectors are expected to be signed.
The Russian President’s visit will provide an opportunity for the leadership of the two countries to review progress in bilateral relations, set the vision for strengthening the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
New Delhi is under an extraordinary, multi-layered security cover for the Russian President’s visit to India, starting today. A massive seven-layered security grid has been established. Teams from Russian intelligence and security agencies have already arrived in Delhi, and every aspect of his programme has been finalised from all security angles, security sources said.
The 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, scheduled for Friday, comes at a time when the US has imposed punitive sanctions on New Delhi, and will focus on strengthening defence cooperation, along with discussions on trade and energy partnerships.
On Friday, he will be accorded a ceremonial welcome before formal talks begin. Following the talks, PM Modi and President Putin will make a statement to the media. Putin will lay a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial on Friday.
On Wednesday, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov called the upcoming meeting during a private dinner between Putin and PM Modi as “one of the key points of the Russian leader’s visit,” Russian state-run news agency TASS reported. According to Ushakov, Putin will discuss important issues of bilateral ties and international situations with PM Modi.
He stated that Putin will also hold talks with PM Modi in a narrow and expanded format. Key aspects of trade and economic cooperation will be discussed and several agreements will be signed during Putin’s visit to India. According to Ushakov, India and Russia plan to sign a programme for the development of strategic areas of economic cooperation until 2030.
The visit is expected to yield multiple agreements, including one to facilitate the movement of Indian workers to Russia. The two governments may also deliberate on India’s proposed free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, which New Delhi has been pursuing to enhance strategic and economic cooperation.
Following the summit with PM Modi, President Putin will attend a state banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu. He is also scheduled to launch the new India channel of Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT, signalling an expansion of media outreach and soft-power engagement.