NEW DELHI, July 8. /TASS/. India expects that its strategic partnership with Russia will only continue to get stronger, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on his X page, posting a message in Russian after his arrival in Moscow.

"[I] arrived in Moscow. We look forward to further deepening the special and privileged strategic partnership between our countries <...>," he wrote. "Strengthening ties between our countries will be of great benefit to our peoples," Modi noted.

He said he would like to pay special attention to cooperation in innovation and modern technology with an eye towards growing in the future.

Modi is paying an official visit to Russia on July 8-9. The countries’ leaders last met at the SCO summit in Samarkand in 2022. Modi's visit to Russia will be his first trip after assuming office as prime minister for the third time. The last time the Indian head of government was in Russia was in 2019 when he visited Vladivostok. Modi last traveled to Moscow in 2015.

Modi is scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the two leaders were expecting "an important, full-scale visit" and that they would be able to talk informally. Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov noted at a briefing that the Kremlin "attaches paramount importance to this visit."