Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day Russia visit from 8th to 9th July 2024 that will see Russian President Putin hosting a private dinner for the Indian leader. The PM will also visit Rosatom Pavilion at the exhibition venue in Moscow.

This will be PM Modi's first visit to Russia since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 where he will be participating in the 22nd annual India-Russia summit. The summit is happening after a gap of three years, the last being in December 2021, when Russian President Putin travelled to India.

The annual India Russia summit owes its origin to Russian President Putin's visit to India in 2000 when the then Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajypayee decided on this mechanism of India Russia summit. The summit since has been alternating between the two countries.

While this is PM Modi's first bilateral visit in his third stint, it is his first visit to Russia in five years. His last visit to the country was in September 2019, when he attended the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. He is the only Indian PM to travel to Russia's Far East region where Russia is trying to get investments.

During the upcoming visit, PM Modi will also meet the Indian diaspora and lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in the Kremlin. Focus during the visit will also be on early discharge of Indian nationals in the Russian Army. Last week, EAM Jaishankar raised the matter with his Russian counterpart, FM Lavrov.

Ahead of the summit, foreign secretary Kwatra told reporters in Delhi: "India-Russia have had a Special and Privileged Partnership since 2010, which has remained resilient in the wake of multiple geopolitical challenges that the world has been facing."

Last month, President Putin had a telephone conversation with PM Modi, congratulating him on his third term. A statement from the Kremlin said: "Vladimir Putin warmly congratulated Narendra Modi on the success of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent 18th Lok Sabha elections. This reflects the support of the political course pursued by the Indian leadership, recognition of the results achieved in the socio-economic development of the country and strengthening of its international authority."

President Putin has invited PM Modi to visit Russia during External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar's visit in 2023. Russia holds the BRICS presidency this year and is set to host the BRICS summit in Kazan in October. PM Modi is expected to participate at the summit.

India Russia have long-standing and stable ties, with key pillars being defence, and energy. While 2000 was an important year in terms of announcement on India Russia annual summit, 2010 saw the upgradation of ties to ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership". Ahead of the summit, Russia has approved a military logistics pact with India to enhance interoperability between the two nations' armed forces. In the energy sector, India's import of Russian crude oil has significantly increased over the past two years, despite Western pressure.

Trade ties currently stand at $65 billion, primarily due to strong energy cooperation between India and Russia but Delhi remains concerned about trade imbalance. In the area of civil nuclear energy, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant units 1 and 2 have already become operational and work is progressing on units 3 and 4.