Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed trade and energy cooperation during bilateral talks in New Delhi on Friday.
The meeting, held ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, included Modi gifting Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, the classical Tamil text.
The Thirukkural comprises 1,330 couplets attributed to poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, written roughly two thousand years ago.
Talks between the two leaders covered trade, industry, energy, mobility and critical resources, including rail sector and steel value chain cooperation.
Putin arrived in Delhi ahead of the BRICS Summit, which India is hosting from September 12 to 13.
Security for the summit period has been tightened significantly across Delhi, with thousands of personnel deployed and airspace restrictions in effect.
India-Russia relations span decades of defence, energy and diplomatic cooperation, with the two countries holding regular bilateral summits.
The two leaders have met on multiple occasions in recent years, both at bilateral summits and on the sidelines of multilateral forums such as BRICS and the SCO.
Officials from both sides were expected to hold follow-up working-level discussions in the weeks after the summit to translate the leaders’ talks into concrete agreements.
India has traditionally balanced its ties with Russia alongside its relationships with Western partners, a dynamic that continues to shape its foreign policy approach.
Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, which India is hosting on September 12 and 13.
The Thirukkural, attributed to the Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, comprises 1,330 two-line couplets offering guidance on virtue, wealth and statecraft, written roughly two thousand years ago.
PM Modi said he was confident people-to-people contact between India and Russia would grow with the availability of the Thirukkural in Russian translation.
The bilateral discussions were expected to cover trade, industry, energy, mobility and critical resources, alongside deeper industrial cooperation.
PM Narendra Modi with President Vladimir Putin, PIB/Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India
