MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. India’s tourist office in Moscow may open by the end of the year, Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma said in an interview with TASS prior to wrapping up his tenure in the Russian capital.

"We are already looking for actual premises - office premises, so as soon as that is finalized, probably by the end of the year, we will have a tourist office in Moscow," the ambassador said.

"They will expand tourist links between India and Russia but also Russia will be seen as a centerpiece for engagement with the other Central Asia states, with other Asian states and the Caucasus," he said when asked what it would be dealing with.

"There’s a huge demand for tourism services. And we hope that the establishment of a tourism office will upgrade them," the diplomat stressed.

"Of course, India is a vast and beautiful country. The traditional areas of where people go for tourism especially from Russia includes, Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, but also Goa and Kerala, which are very beautiful, but I would suggest that you go to other parts of India as well," Bala Venkatesh Varma went on to say.

"The North East is very beautiful. Orissa, Andhra Pradesh. We also have excellent facilities in Madhya Pradesh, up north in Kashmir, in Uttarakhand. The list is very large," he added.

The full text of the interview is available at: https://tass.com/defense/1356659