New Delhi, December 4 (IANS). Relations between India and Russia are decades old, but the chemistry between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin has taken them to a new strategic and emotional dimension. In several posts on the social media platform X, Modi Archive has detailed this extraordinary journey of these 24 years. A journey that begins in 2001, when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Modi Archive wrote in President Putin showed warmth and respect to PM Modi, despite his status. Years later, PM Modi clearly remembers that first meeting: “President Putin treated me with great respect. This laid the foundation for our strong friendship.”
The post further said that during this 2001 visit, CM Modi signed a historic protocol agreement for cooperation between the state of Gujarat and the Astrakhan province of Russia. This agreement made Gujarat-Astrakhan a pilot project for Indian state-Russian provincial cooperation, which later served as a model for larger India-Russia engagement. This foundation proved vital when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, which immediately deepened India-Russia relations.
Another post said, “On July 16, 2014, PM Narendra Modi met Putin at the BRICS Summit in Fortaleza. This was PM Modi’s first official meeting with President Putin after assuming office in May 2014. Putin welcomed him warmly, saying that we know that you are a very good friend of our country. A few months later, in December, Putin met PM Modi for his first bilateral summit as Prime Minister. Reached New Delhi for.”
He said, “My first visit outside Delhi as Prime Minister was on INS Vikramaditya. It is a major symbol of our defense cooperation abroad. The two leaders conducted a joint exercise across all three wings of the Armed Forces, which showcased military coordination. PM Modi said that even though India’s options have increased today, Russia will remain our most important defense partner, as both discussed on defense projects. Discussed in details.”
Sharing another incident, Modi Archive wrote, “In 2015, PM Modi met Putin at the BRICS Summit in Moscow on July 8-10, where they discussed strategic cooperation and economic engagement. Along with India’s participation in the BRICS Summit, strategic talks also took place. This was followed by an official visit to the Kremlin in December (23-25), which was PM Modi’s first major visit to Russia as Prime Minister. It was a bilateral visit. President Putin gave him a hand-written page of Mahatma Gandhi’s diary. The two leaders issued an official joint statement, “Russia-India Partnership: A Vision for the 21st Century.”
Subsequently, PM Modi and Putin met twice in 2016, first at the SCO summit in Tashkent on June 24, where Russia strongly supported India’s bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership. President Putin stressed on the special status of India and said that India [रूस का] Is a special and privileged partner. They met again in Goa on 15-16 October, where together they dedicated the Kudankulam Unit-2 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant for India-Russia friendship and cooperation. After the Uri surgical strike, Putin showed full solidarity with India’s counter-terrorism response. Here, PM Modi praised Russia and said that an old friend is better than two new friends.
Sharing an incident from 2017, Modi Archive wrote, “In May-June 2017, PM Modi and President Putin celebrated 70 years of India-Russia diplomatic relations by adopting the historic St. Petersburg Declaration titled A Vision for the 21st Century. The declaration reflects a major strategic convergence on global governance, counter-terrorism, sovereignty, and regional stability. St. Petersburg During the International Economic Forum and Bilateral (18th Annual Summit), Putin himself showed Russia’s historical and cultural heritage to PM Modi. On September 4 that year, PM Modi met Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China, and continued their regular talks on bilateral and multilateral matters.
Modi Archive reported in another post that in May 2018, PM Modi and Putin held a unique informal summit in Sochi. During the summit, under Putin’s personal guidance, PM Modi visited the My Russia Cultural and Ethnographic Center in Krasnaya Polyana. President Putin himself showed Russian cultural heritage sites to PM Modi, which showed how much personal investment PM Modi makes in understanding Russian civilization and values. In July 2018, PM Modi and Putin held bilateral talks during the BRICS Summit on global issues focusing on BRICS coordination, continuation of energy cooperation, cooperation in defense sector, counter-terrorism cooperation, etc.
The post further said, “In October 2018, India and Russia signed a major defense cooperation agreement on the S-400 Triumf air defense system, reflecting advanced military technology transfer. In December 2018, Narendra Modi met Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit, a strategic move for a coordinated position between the three major emerging economies. Shows importance.”
Modi Archive reported in another post, “They met repeatedly in 2019. During the SCO summit, PM Modi particularly warmly told Putin that your friendship and trust means a lot. In June 2019, PM Modi met Putin and Xi Jinping to coordinate their positions on regional and global priorities within the G20 framework. Subsequently, in Vladivostok in September 2019 was PM Modi’s first bilateral visit to Russia and during his participation as the Chief Guest in Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum, PM Modi announced a $1 billion line of credit for Russia’s regional development priority. Had a bilateral meeting, which focused on strategic coordination, regional security matters and multilateral platform coordination.
In another post, Modi Archive said that for the first time in the year 2021, 2+2 dialogue took place along with summit-level talks. This system, which now occurs annually, significantly deepened institutional engagement, and created a structured system for high-level strategic coordination beyond bilateral summits.
Modi Archive further said that this meeting took place about 6 months after the Russia-Ukraine conflict (February 2022), making it especially important for India’s diplomatic position and the strength of India-Russia partnership. During this bilateral meeting, PM Modi said that decades of friendship and personal relationships are the specialty of India-Russia relations. PM Modi stressed strong Russia-India relations and emphasized cooperation in trade, energy, defense, and technology.
–IANS
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