Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Russia and Austria on July 8-10 July, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said here on Thursday. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria in 41 years, it said.
Giving details about his schedule, MEA said Prime Minister will be in Moscow on 8-9 July 2024 at the invitation of the President Vladimir Putin to hold the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
The leaders will review the entire range of multifaceted relations between the two countries and exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest.Prime Minister Modi, will thereafter travel to Austria during 9-10 July.
This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Austria in 41 years. He will call on President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen and hold talks with Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer.
Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Nehammer will also address business leaders from India and Austria. Modi will interact with members of the Indian community in Moscow as well as in Vienna.
Modi last visited Russia in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok.
The annual summit between the Prime Minister of India and the President of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries.
So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.
The last summit was held on December 6, 2021, in New Delhi. President Putin had visited India to attend the summit.
The summit saw both sides sealing 28 MoUs and agreements, besides coming out with a joint statement titled "India-Russia Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity".Prime Minister Modi and President Putin last held bilateral talks on the margins of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.
In the meeting, Modi had famously pressed Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine saying "today's era is not of war".
"I know today's era is not of war. We discussed this issue on phone several times that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world," Modi had said.
Since the Russian military action in Ukraine in February 2022, Modi has held several telephonic conversations with Putin and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In reflection of its strong friendship with Russia, India has refrained from condemning Moscow's military action in Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
India's import of Russian crude oil has also gone up significantly notwithstanding the G7 price cap and increasing disquiet over the procurement in many Western countries.
In December 2022, the G7 grouping and its allies announced a cap on the price of Russian oil as part of a series of punitive measures against Moscow in view of its invasion of Ukraine.
The price cap restricts countries to pay more than USD 60 a barrel. Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. Development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India's foreign policy.
