New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a bilateral meeting on Friday in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The meeting began with the two leaders exchanging a warm embrace and handshake. Prime Minister Modi also presented President Putin with a copy of the Russian edition of Saint Thiruvalluvar’s renowned work, ‘Thirukkural’.

The meeting, which began at around 3:30 pm, focused on strengthening cooperation between India and Russia across several areas, including defence, energy, trade, investment, technology and pharmaceuticals. The two leaders also emphasised strengthening people-to-people ties and expanding mutual engagement.

Energy Cooperation Gets Special Focus

Amid the situation arising from the Iran conflict, ensuring stable and reliable fuel supplies has become increasingly important for India. Russia remains one of India’s key strategic partners and an important energy supplier. Against this backdrop, energy cooperation emerged as a significant area of discussion.

According to sources, the two leaders were also expected to discuss the ambitious target of increasing bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. Industrial cooperation was another key area, including the possibility of hosting INNOPROM in India, cooperation in railway and tunnelling projects, development of the steel value chain and creation of greater business-to-business opportunities.

India is also seeking to expand its access to the Russian market. Other potential areas of cooperation included critical minerals, facilitating the movement of skilled Indian workers to Russia, and strengthening civil nuclear cooperation. Cooperation related to nuclear fuel and the full life cycle of nuclear power plants was also among the areas under consideration.

Important Meeting Amid Ukraine Conflict

The Modi-Putin meeting came days after the two leaders held a brief interaction on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek. During that interaction, Prime Minister Modi had called for an early end to the Ukraine conflict and urged President Putin to move away from a “never-ending war” towards efforts aimed at ending the war.

President Putin had last visited India in December 2025. During that visit, Prime Minister Modi had reiterated that India was not neutral on the Ukraine conflict but stood firmly on the side of peace. He had also emphasised that the present era should be an era of peace rather than war.

Modi and Putin Have Met 19 Times in 11 Years

The personal rapport between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin has remained an important pillar of the India-Russia strategic partnership. The two leaders have met 19 times over the past 11 years.

The latest meeting comes at a time when the Ukraine war has entered its fifth year. Western countries continue to impose stringent sanctions on Russia, while diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a peace agreement have made limited progress.

Against this backdrop, the Modi-Putin meeting is being seen as an important step towards further strengthening India-Russia strategic, economic and energy ties amid evolving global geopolitical challenges.

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