After China, PM Modi to visit Russia on 21 May for an informal summit with Valdimir Putin

New Delhi, May 15: Booking his dates in the calendar, PM Narendra Modi is ready for his next visit to Russia on 21 May. Invited by the President of Russia, Valdimir Putin, PM Modi has been scheduled to meet for an informal summit with the president in the city of Sochi.

Announcing the visit, Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said that this will be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective. The meeting has been aimed with the objective of further strengthening our Special and Privileged Strategic partnership.

The leaders will also get a platform to discuss matters pertaining to their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters.

This informal Summit in Sochi between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin is in keeping with the tradition of regular consultations between India and Russia at the highest levels.

Looking forward to the visits, India would like to highlight that it maintains strategic autonomy in foreign policy and has special ties with Moscow.

Last week Last week, Doval and foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale visited Moscow to meet Russia’s national security adviser and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov besides other senior officials. The talking points included the Afghan and West Asian situation. Besides defence purchases, the US’ decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and its ramifications on India-Russia ties, including the development of Chabahar Port and International North-South Transport Corridor, were also understood to have been on the agenda.