Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have meet for the annual summit. The highlight of summit is expected to be the signing of an agreement, which is to build the last two units of the Kundankulam nuclear power plant with the help of Moscow.
Both the countries are expected to sign numerous agreements in the wide-ranging sectors, including in the sectors of science and technology, railways, cultural exchanges and also other key business areas between the private parties also, in addition to the "vision statement" which the leaders of both countries will release.
If the nuclear deal is signed, then it would be the centrepiece of the summit, and also the two units of the plant, capacity of each unit is to produce 1,000 MW of electricity, will significantly boost the India's nuclear power generation.
The Indian officials have told to PTI that the last-minute talks are going on with the Russian officials to work out on the language of agreement, based on a line of credit for building the Unit 5 and 6 of the nuclear power plant in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The nuclear reactors are being constructed by the India's Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Russia's Atomstroyexport company, a subsidiary of the Rosatom, which is a regulatory body of the Russian nuclear complex.
"There is a lot of mutual trust and personal chemistry between the two leaders that has developed over the last three years," the India's ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran told to PTI.
Also at the annual summit today, "the leaders will take stock of the current relationship and discuss a blueprint for a vision of the future," Saran said.
Last night, the honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in the Russian city of St Petersburg, a former capital of the Imperial Russia which was founded by Czar Peter the Great in the year 1703.
In addition to the annual summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Saturday, 2nd June, 2017. It is the first time that an Indian prime minister is going to attend the economic and business summit.
The trade between both the countries stand at USD 7.8 billion, which wass dropped from USD 10 billion in the year 2014. In the next five years, both the countries are targeting to increase the trade to USD 30 billion.
Modi will start his tour to Russia with the visit today to the Piskariovskoe cemetery, a memorial for some 500,000 Russians who were killed in the siege of Leningrad during World War II, the Russians call it as the Great Patriotic War.
Then, Modi will be received by the Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace, a sprawling regal complex which is also the official residence of Russian president where he hosts the world leaders.
After the annual summit, Putin will host Modi at a private dinner without any aides.
Ahead of the Modi’s arrival in Russia, Modi wrote an article in the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazetta in which he said that India and Russia are "natural partners" in fighting the terrorism and asserted that the ties between two nations have "withstood the test of time."
"We have been together in times - good and bad," he wrote.
"India-Russia relations have been the one constant in a world that has changed dramatically since 1947. They have withstood the test of time, and grown from strength to strength. The resilience of our relationship is based on the fact that it rests on the principles of equality, trust and mutual benefit," Modi said.
He also hailed that the erstwhile Soviet Union's help to India in building its industrial base.
He also said that both the countries are opening new areas of cooperation in the various sectors like energy, telecommunications and also science and technology.
Mrudula Duddempudi.
