“Today I will commence my visit to
Russia, my first bilateral visit after we formed the Government. I am
very optimistic about the outcome of this visit,” Modi said in a
Facebook post.
On Wednesday, Modi leaves for Moscow
where he will attend the 16th India-Russia annual summit meeting during
which a number of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed, with
trade being a major focus area.
“My visit will deepen the cooperation
between India and Russia in the economic, energy and security spheres.
We also want to increase cooperation in science and technology, mining
among other sectors. Trade ties between India and Russia can increase
even further, to benefit not only our two nations but also the world,”
the post said.
This will be the first meeting between
Modi and Putin since their formal interaction at the BRICS (Brazil,
Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Ufa in July, Foreign
Secretary S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday.
There will be an interaction between
Modi and Russian businesspersons to invite them to invest in India. He
will also attend a ‘Friends of India’ programme.
Source : IndianMediaBook - Press Briefing
