Modi’s visit to Vladivostok will open a new chapter in the Russia-India special and privileged strategic partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vladivostok, in far eastern Russia, next month will mark another “landmark event” in India-Russia ties, with several agreements set to be inked, including in the field of energy, defence, civil nuclear energy and diamonds, Russian envoy Nikolay Kudashev said on Wednesday.

The September 4-5 visit to Vladivostok, the administrative capital of Russia’s far eastern region, will see PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold the 20th annual bilateral summit, while Modi will also participate in the 5th Eastern Economic Forum as Chief Guest.

“Their meeting in Vladivostok, which is called the Pacific capital of Russia, will open a new chapter in the Russia-India special and privileged strategic partnership,” said the envoy, adding that it would open up the the mineral-rich Far Eastern region for mutually beneficial cooperation.

The areas in focus would include trade, investment, innovation, energy, education, tourism, people-to-people connect. Agreements are likely to be inked in the areas of mining, diamonds, timber, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture.

He said the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok is becoming another promising platform streamlining the Russian-Indian business-to-business interaction like the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum or the Vibrant Gujarat.

“The 20th summit will be unique as compared to the previous highest-level engagements between our two leaders,” said the Russian Ambassador.

The summit between Modi and President Putin will lay a solid ground for exploration and promotion of a new dimension to the special and privilege partnership between the two countries, he said.

He said a new impetus will be given to new forms of collaboration in military and military-technical cooperation besides aiming for boosting ties in alternative energy, hydrocarbon sectors and taking volume of annual bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2025.

“We expect that this highly anticipated meeting between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi will take the special and privileged partnership between the two countries to new heights,” the envoy said.

“We are eager to successfully implement huge infrastructure projects such as the Vladivostok-Chennai sea route transport corridor, as well as other initiatives to improve transit,” he said.