Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India is being watched across the globe. Putin has not travelled much during the pandemic but is making the trip to Delhi. This is his second visit outside Russia. Before this, he made a visit to Geneva for the summit meeting with US President Joe Biden.
India has had a historical relationship with Russia for more than seven decades. The strongest pillar of the strategic partnership is defence.
The bulk of India’s defence equipment is from Russia. Around 60-70 per cent of India’s supplies are from Russia. India needs reliable and regular supplies from the Russian defence industry.
New Delhi has a bilateral ties history with Moscow. Hence, present outreach is very significant. Both countries have a shared concern about terrorism. So, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Putin will focus on terrorism as it is common for both regions.
The top government source said that India and Russia have worked together on three major multilateral groupings. They are BRICS, Russia-India-China (RIC), Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The 2+2 ministerial meeting between Foreign and Defence ministers of both sides is also going to be held on Monday. So far, India has this format meeting with the US, Australia, and Japan.
Ahead of the summit, India has cleared the long-pending deal of AK 201 Kalashnikov rifles which is worth Rs 5000 Crore for production of over five lakh such rifles at Korwa in Amethi by an Indo-Russian joint venture. The two sides are set to focus on co-production and co-development of military platforms and equipment.
