Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited St. Petersburg, Russia from 31st May to 2nd June for the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit.
The visit began with paying homage at the Piskarovskoye Cemetery, to those who perished during the siege of Leningrad, followed by a visit to the world famous State Hermitage Museum and the Institute of Oriental manuscripts.
He had detailed discussions with President Putin to take forward their dialogue from the last Summit in Goa in October 2016. With a spotlight on economic ties, the two leaders interacted with CEOs from both countries. He also addressed the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) together with President Putin.
In a first meeting of its kind, Prime Minister Modi interacted with Governors from various Russian regions to further broad-base bilateral cooperation and more actively involve States/Regions and other diversified stakeholders.
01 Jun 2017 saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 18th Annual India-Russia Summit at St. Petersburg. Recalling his first visit to St. Petersburg as Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001, he said that the ties between India and Russia span the spectrum from Culture to Defence (Sanskriti se Suraksha). He noted that 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries have been marked by a high degree of convergence on various bilateral and global matters.
The Prime Minister described the St. Petersburg Declaration, issued at the occasion to be a benchmark of stability in a turbulent, interdependent and interconnected world. He said that India's participation as a guest country in SPIEF would further deepen economic cooperation between the two nations.
Prime Minister Modi addressed the Plenary Session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2017, calling himself a representative of 1.25 billion people.
"India- Russia ties are not utilitarian. There is an underlying trust in our ties & our ties have grown stronger & deeper over time"
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi
"In the last three years there have been substantial reforms, guided by the principle of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'"
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi
"India is a fast growing economy- this is a sentiment leading global agencies are reflecting"
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The Prime Minister Modi, met and interacted with sixteen Governors/Heads of 16 Russian regions on the sidelines of SPIEF. He reiterated his vision that relationships between regions and provinces of two countries are a vital part of nurturing the bilateral relationship and recalled warmly his visit to Astrakhan province of Russia in 2001, as Chief Minister of Gujarat. The Governors explained opportunities for increasing interaction, people to people, and business links between their provinces, and India.
The Governors who attended the interaction included Governors of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Astrakhan Oblast, Irkutsk region, Moscow region, Primorye Territory, Republic of Kalmykia, Tatarstan, St. Petersburg, Sakhalin Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Tomsk Oblast, Tula Oblast, Ulyanovsk Oblast, Khabarovskiy Krai, Chelyabinsk Oblast, and Yaroslavl Oblast
