MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced opening two new consulates in Russia during his visit to Moscow on Tuesday.

As Modi said at a meeting with the Indian community, the opening of the country’s two new consulates in Russia will facilitate travel and business cooperation.

India will open two new consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg, he specified.

On July 8, India’s PM Modi arrived in Moscow where the 22nd Russia-India summit will take place. Before his departure for Moscow, Modi said that he waited impatiently for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin whom he called his friend.

The special privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has progressed in the past decade, especially in the sphere of energy, security, trade, investment, health care, education, culture, tourism and interpersonal exchanges, the Indian prime minister said.

India and Russia contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the region, he added.

On the evening of July 8, Modi and Putin held an unofficial meeting in the Russian leader’s residence in Novo-Ogaryovo. On Tuesday, the delegations of both countries are set to hold official negotiations.