Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia on Monday to hold bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and to explore opportunities to boost cooperation in sectors like trade, energy and defence.
The PM was received by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Denis Maturov. It is Modi's first trip to Russia in five years.
Modi, who is on a two-day official visit, is expected to meet Putin in the evening. He will also be attending the community event in Moscow on Tuesday.
The Indian diaspora expressed joy and enthusiasm to welcome Modi as well.
During the 22nd India-Russia annual summit, Modi and Putin are expected to explore ways to further expand bilateral relations in diverse areas, including trade, energy and defence.
"The special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has advanced over the past 10 years, including in areas of energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges," Modi said in his departure statement.
"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," he said.
"We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region," he added.
This is the 22nd annual summit between India and Russia. The last summit was held in 2021 in New Delhi. President Putin had visited India to attend the summit. Putin, as head of the Russian state, has visited India nine times.
Prime Minister Modi and President Putin last held bilateral talks on the margins of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.
During the meeting, Modi had pressed Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine saying, "Today's era is not of war". India has always maintained that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.