Putin in Delhi for India Russia Summit

COLOMBO (News 1st); Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in India today for the 21st India-Russia summit, which is set to begin at 5.30 p.m. (IST). Prior to the Summit, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet one-on-one, while both leaders look forward to some very crucial outcomes from the summit.

This visit is happening against the backdrop of the Nagaland conflict, where China has become involved in the 14-year-old conflict mounting pressure on Indo-China relations.

As India-US relations are growing stronger, Russia and the US have been steadily growing apart. On the other hand, China's deteriorating relations with the US appear to have pushed Beijing and Moscow closer together.

The focal point of the discussions to be held today, are to strengthen bilateral ties between Moscow and New Delhi.

Several agreements to deepen cooperation in defence, trade, space, technology, energy and culture are expected to be inked during the summit.

India, the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia's deal, where the former will supply India with S-400 air defence missile systems, could put India at risk of sanctions by the United States.The $5.5bn deal was for five long-range surface-to-air missile systems, which India says it needs to counter a threat from China.

Under the 'Make in India' programme, India and Russia are expected to sign an agreement to produce 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles for the Indian Army.

Russia and India have now set a target of reaching $30bn in bilateral trade by the end of 2025.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the ‘2+2’ dialogue where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu participated in joint discussions.

Both nations renewed the military-technical cooperation agreement, extending it for a further 10 years until 2031 and also endorsed the deal for the manufacture of Ak-203 assault rifles.

An Indian defence official reported, The deal for 6.1 lakh Ak-203 assault rifles is estimated at over ₹5,000 crore and will be manufactured by a Joint Venture, Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd.

The respective conterparts from both Russia and India emphasized on maritime security as a common area for the privileged strategic partnership aswell collaborating with each other to build regional trust and global security.