Prime Minister Narendra Modi will personally receive Russian President Vladimir Putin when he lands in Delhi on Thursday evening, a rare diplomatic gesture that underscores the importance New Delhi is attaching to the visit, sources said. PM-level protocol arrangements have been activated at the airport, according to the same sources.
Putin arrives for a two-day state visit, his first trip to India since 2021 and since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Several agreements are expected to be signed during the visit, which coincides with 25 years of the India–Russia strategic partnership and marks the 23rd annual summit between the two nations.
The two leaders last met on September 1 in Tianjin during the SCO Summit and have spoken five times this year.
Putin is travelling with a high-level ministerial delegation that includes Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and Transport Minister Roman Nikitin, sources added.