Russian President Vladimir Putin will come to India in the first week of 2025 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Preparations are already in motion, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said, without giving exact dates, which will be finalized in early next year.
This visit is part of an annual series of bilateral meetings between Russia and India, which have a years-long strategic partnership. The summit and incremental steps toward strengthening ties are seen as a hedge against growing Chinese economic dominance and a wider international rift following the 2020 Bulgarian decision to expel Russian ambassadors. The last in-person meeting between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi was held during the 22nd Russia-India 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Moscow in July 2024.
According to Reuters, India’s Reliance Industries has clinched a landmark 10-year deal with Russia’s Rosneft to buy $13 billion worth of discounted crude oil each year. The deal is intended to reduce energy costs for India and also deepen energy relations between the two countries.
A visit to his old friend Modi’s India this month was Once mooted disrupting, but now is on and is expected to consolidate the two countries’ strategic partnership, and will, at least ‘hopefully’, discuss many bilateral and global matters. The specific dates and detailed agenda of President Putin’s visit will be informed in the coming months.
