MOSCOW, December 3. /TASS/. During his state visit to India, Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the most pressing and important issues in bilateral relations and the international situation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"The visit will begin tomorrow, December 4, in the evening. Upon arrival in New Delhi, our president will meet with Prime Minister Modi in an informal setting at his residence. The conversation will be held in private - one on one. In my opinion, this is one of the key points of our president's visit since the most pressing, sensitive, and important issues of bilateral relations and the international situation are discussed during such confidential face-to-face meetings," Ushakov said.
According to the Kremlin aide, an official meeting between the Russian leader and Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take place on Friday, December 5, at the presidential palace.
"Then, our president is expected to visit the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, where he will lay a wreath and sign the guest book. After that, the business part of the visit will begin. Putin will hold a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Modi at the palace in Hyderabad," Ushakov said.
Expanded format
According to the Kremlin aide, the talks will then continue in an expanded format. The Russian delegation will include government members and business representatives. In particular, Ushakov listed Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov,Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina, and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. The delegation also includes representatives of the Federal Customs Service, Russia’s financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring, Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Director Dmitry Shugayev, as well as CEOs of Roscosmos, Rosatom, and VEB.RF.
From the business community, Russia will be represented by the heads of Rosneft, Sberbank, Basic Element, Rusal, VTB Bank, the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, Roskhim, and Transmashholding, among others.
Visit’s conclusion
At the end of his stay at the Hyderabad palace, the Russian president will sign the guest book. After that, Putin and the Indian prime minister will speak at the plenary session of the Russian-Indian Business Forum, which is being held on December 4 and 5. Then, together with RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, the Russian president will participate in the launch ceremony for the RT India TV channel. The head of state will give a brief welcome speech to the channel's audience. In the evening, Putin will meet with the Indian president at the presidential palace.