Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart on Tuesday — congratulating Vladimir Putin on his 73rd birthday. The two leaders also reviewed progress in the bilateral agenda and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between New Delhi and Moscow. The interaction comes mere weeks ahead of his scheduled visit to India.
The two leaders had previously met at the beginning of September while attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China. There have also been multiple telephonic interactions between Modi and Putin in recent weeks — including a call on September 27 where they reaffirmed the strong and time-tested nature of relations between Moscow and New Delhi.
Putin is now slated to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Modi. The summit is expected to produce significant outcomes to further solidify bilateral strategic ties. While preparations are underway for the high-profile visit, it is not yet clear whether the Russian president will come for a day-long trip or he will be in India for two days.
What was discussed?
“Spoke with my friend President Putin and conveyed warm birthday greetings and best wishes for his good health and long life. Deeply appreciate his personal commitment to deepening India–Russia ties over the years,” the PM wrote on X.
A statement from the office of the Russian president added that the two leaders had also “expressed interest in developing the special and privileged strategic partnership” between the two countries. They had also briefly discussed preparations for Putin’s upcoming visit to India in December.
An official readout from the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Modi and Putin had “reviewed the progress in the bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia”. The PM had also conveyed that he was looking forward to welcoming Putin for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit.