Moscow, Nov 27 (IANS) Citing that the political dialogue between India and Russia is "developing dynamically" and is facilitated by the fact that Moscow and New Delhi "have close or even coinciding views on the objectively emerging multipolar world order", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that preparations are being made for Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to India."Relations between our countries have a long history. It can be said that they have stood the test of time more than once. Today, Russia and India are developing equal cooperation based on sincere, mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests," Lavrov told the participants of the first international conference 'Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations' which was also addressed by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar.

"It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of our leaders to this process. It is symbolic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral foreign visit after his re-election last year to Russia. Now it is our turn. Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the invitation of the head of the Indian government. The visit of the head of the Russian state to the Republic of India is being prepared," he added. Earlier, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov had confirmed that Putin is expected to visit India in early 2025 following an invitation from Prime Minister Modi. The visit is being planned as part of the ongoing commitment to annual meetings between the two leaders. "Our leaders have an agreement to meet once a year. This time, it is our turn," Ushakov had said during a press briefing.

The last visit by the Russian President to India took place on December 6, 2021, during the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit in New Delhi. Meanwhile, PM Modi held two high-profile visits to Russia last year, attending the 22nd Russia-India Summit in July and later participated in the BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October. Addressing the gathering during the Russia-India conference, Lavrov highlighted how the relations between both countries have a solid material base. "Trade and economic cooperation is steadily expanding. We are successfully overcoming the attempts of certain ill-wishers to prevent this. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover exceeded $60 billion. This is the highest result in the entire modern history of relations. But, of course, this is not the limit. We continue to work to achieve the goal set by the leaders at last year's July summit: to bring trade turnover to $100 billion by 2030. The increase in practical cooperation reflects not only the existing potential of Russian-Indian trade, but also the great interest of the business circles of our countries in its full development, including the implementation of joint investment projects," he said.

The Russian Foreign Minister stated that, along with partner India, Russia advocates for the democratization of international relations, for an increased role for the Global South in economic governance mechanisms, respect for the cultural and civilizational identity of all peoples of the world, and their right to independently determine their own development paths.

"We highly value and welcome the ability of Indian diplomacy to implement an independent, multi-vector foreign policy course. We believe that India has every reason to have the status of one of the great powers of our time, one of the influential centres of the multipolar world. We share the philosophy of the Indian foreign policy concept “The whole world is a family”, aimed at ensuring international cooperation for the benefit of all mankind based on a balance of interests of all states. We value joint work in the UN , the G20 , BRICS , SCO and other multilateral platforms," he mentioned. "I would like to separately express gratitude to the Russian side for the fact that India, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally, consistently takes a balanced position with regard to the Ukrainian crisis and advocates its resolution through dialogue and the elimination of the root causes of this conflict," he added.

/IANS