New Delhi:- Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly welcomed his friend Putin at the Palam airport. The Prime Minister first hugged the Russian President and then shook hands. During this, great chemistry was seen between the two leaders. Before reaching India, Putin had said that he was eager to meet his friend Narendra Modi.
President Putin arrived in Delhi at around 6:35 pm on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed him at the Palam airport with a hug, after which both left the airport in the Prime Minister's car. Prime Minister Putin will host a private dinner.
Putin will be given a formal welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan tomorrow, followed by lunch at Hyderabad House, which is India's traditional venue for high-level bilateral events. President Putin will also visit Rajghat in the morning to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
The Russian president will later inaugurate a new India-based channel of the Russian state broadcaster before attending a state banquet hosted in his honour by President Draupadi Murmu. He is expected to leave India around 9 pm on Friday.
According to government sources, President Putin is travelling with a large group of businessmen and India hopes that this will help improve the trade deficit with one of its oldest strategic partners.
Officials from both sides have said that the summit will focus on three main themes: defence, energy and trade. Government sources have said that several agreements and MoUs are expected in the areas of shipping, healthcare, fertilizers and connectivity.
On Thursday, ahead of the summit, the defence ministers of the two countries held wide-ranging talks, which included India's plan to buy additional batches of S-400 air defence systems and pending deliveries of military hardware due to the Ukraine war.
The S-400 systems, which India began receiving under a $5 billion deal signed in 2018, played a major role during Operation Vermilion.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia may increase the possibility of supplying Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jets, an offer that would put Moscow in direct competition with Western aircraft including the Rafale, F-21, F/A-18 and Eurofighter Typhoon.
India remains one of the largest buyers of discounted Russian crude, but recent US sanctions on two major Russian oil producers have significantly reduced India’s purchases.
Ahead of the Russian President's visit, Delhi Police has deployed over 5,000 personnel in Central and New Delhi districts, including layered security including SWAT teams, anti-terror squads, high-altitude snipers, rapid-response teams, anti-drone mechanisms, high-definition CCTV grids and technological surveillance systems.