Russian President Putin to Visit India on December 4-5

New Delhi: India on Friday announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in New Delhi on December 4 for a two-day visit. During the state visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Russian President will co-chair the 23rd annual bilateral summit, which is expected to produce significant outcomes to further solidify the bilateral strategic ties.

Announcing the visit, the ministry of external affairs said that the bilateral summit will set the vision for strengthening the India-Russia “special and privileged strategic partnership”.

"At the invitation of the Prime Minister, the President of the Russian Federation will pay a state visit to India from December 4 to 5 for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit. During the visit, Mr Modi and Mr Putin will hold talks," New Delhi said.

According to the foreign ministry, President Droupadi Murmu will also receive the Russian President and host a banquet in his honour.

“The forthcoming state visit will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia 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 added.

Briefing on the Russian President's visit earlier this week, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that there are several issues that are expected to be part of the outcome of the summit.

According to media reports earlier this month, India and Russia are expected to sign a bilateral mobility agreement during Mr Putin’s visit. The accord will establish a framework for legal migration, protection of workers’ rights and expansion of skilled Indian manpower in Russia. The pact will also reportedly ensure legal protection for existing Indian workers and open pathways for thousands of new professionals in industries such as construction, textiles, engineering and electronics.

The bilateral talks between Mr Modi and Mr Putin are also expected to focus on deepening cooperation in areas of defence and security, trade and civil nuclear energy.

India is looking at acquiring more S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, as the weapons proved to be very effective during Operation Sindoor. It is learnt that the proposed procurement may figure in the talks between the two sides.

The Ukraine conflict is also likely to figure prominently in the talks.

India and Russia have a mechanism under which the Prime Minister and the Russian President hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties. So far 22 annual summit meetings have taken place alternately in India and Russia.

Mr Putin had last visited India four years ago in December 2021, just about two and a half months before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. This will be his first visit to India since the outbreak of that war. During this period, Mr Modi and Mr Putin met a few times in person abroad, including the meeting in early September this year at the Chinese port city of Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO summit. The Prime Minister had also visited Russia twice last year.