President Vladimir Putin Wednesday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia next year, saying it will give them an opportunity to discuss all current issues and talk about the outlook for the development of bilateral relations.
“We will be glad to see our friend, Mr. Prime Minister Modi in Russia,” Putin told External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who called on the Russian leader at the Kremlin.
“We will be able to discuss all current issues, talk about the outlook for the development of Russian-Indian relations. We have a very large amount of work to do,” the Russian leader was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.
He asked the Indian minister to pass on to Modi “his best wishes” and an invitation to come to Russia.
Putin said that he realised India will be busy with internal affairs next year as the country is poised to hold a parliamentary election.
Jaishankar, who is here on a five-day official visit to Russia, earlier met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
During a joint media appearance along with Lavrov after their talks, Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year. In his opening remarks earlier, Jaishankar said that the two leaders have been in frequent contact.
The summit between the prime minister of India and the Russian president is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two sides.
So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. The last summit took place in New Delhi in December 2021.