Overview of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Visit to India from December 4 to 5, 2025

President of Russia Vladimir Putin was on a two-day official visit to India from 4 to 5 December 2025, at the invitation of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi,  to attend the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit.

• The visit marks the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, which was established in 2000.

Highlights of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Visit to India:

Arrival: On December 4, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at the Palam Airport in New Delhi, Delhi. He was personally received by PM Narendra Modi.

Key Events:PM Narendra Modi hosted a private dinner for Russian President Vladimir Putin at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, gifting him a Russian-language edition of the Bhagavad Gita as a gesture of goodwill.

• On December 5, 2025, President of India Droupadi Murmu welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi and hosted a banquet in his honor.

Paid Homage: During his visit, he paid floral tribute at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial at Rajghat in New Delhi, accompanied by Union Minister of State (MoS) Kirti Vardhan Singh, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

23rd India–Russia Annual Summit:

PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit held at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

• During the Summit, a Joint Statement was released highlighting key agreements, areas of cooperation, and shared strategic priorities between the two countries.

Key Highlights of the Joint Statement:

Trade and Economic Partnership: Both the leaders welcomed the adoption of the Programme 2030 for strategic economic cooperation and emphasized removing trade barriers, improving logistics, payment systems, and connectivity to reach a USD 100 billion trade target by 2030.

• They agreed to develop bilateral settlements in national currencies and consult on payment systems and digital currencies.
• India–Russia bilateral trade reached USD 68.7 billion in Financial Year 2024-25(FY25), driven mainly by India’s energy imports.

Energy Cooperation: Agreed to cooperate in areas such as oil, petrochemicals, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), coal gasification, nuclear projects, and infrastructure.

Transport and Connectivity: Agreed to focus on transport corridors, including the International North-South Corridor (INSTC), Chennai-Vladivostok route, and Northern Sea Route(NSR).

Far East and Arctic Cooperation: Trade and investment cooperation in Russia’s Far East and Arctic region from 2024 to 2029, covering energy, mining, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, diamonds, maritime transport.

• India participated in the 6th International Arctic Forum held in Murmansk (Russia). India expressed its readiness to play an active role as an Observer in the Arctic Council.

Civil Nuclear and Space Cooperation: Agreed to expand nuclear cooperation, including Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu(TN), second site discussions, Water-Water Energetic Reactor (VVER) projects, and joint manufacturing of equipment.

• Space cooperation includes human spaceflight, satellite navigation, planetary exploration, and rocket engine development.

Military and Defence Cooperation: Agreed to focus on joint Research and Development (R&D), co-development, and co-production of advanced defence technology, with regular exchanges and joint exercises .

Science, Technology & Innovation: Agreed for cooperation in critical technologies, digital tech, start-ups, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), research and academic exchanges, with a focus on critical minerals, rare earths, innovation, and joint R&D.

Cultural Exchange: Cooperation in Cultural exchange festivals, participation in film industry, international forums, book fairs, and art competitions. Tourist exchanges were promoted via electronic (e)-visa and simplified visa processes, and continued collaboration in education, student well-being, and institutional partnerships.

UN and Multilateral Cooperation: Agreed to strengthen cooperation in United Nations (UN), Group of Twenty (G20), BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), focusing on multilateralism, reform, sustainable development, and international security.

Counter-Terrorism: Committed to combat terrorism, extremism, transnational crime, money laundering, and terrorist financing.

Key MoUs Signed:

During the 23rd India–Russia Summit, the leaders witnessed the exchange of several documents, including MoUs on trade and commerce, migration and mobility, maritime cooperation, health and food safety, fertilizers, academic exchanges, media collaboration, and strengthening people-to-people ties.

Migration and Mobility: India and Russia signed an agreement to facilitate temporary labor mobility between the two countries and enhance cooperation in combating illegal migration.

Health and Food Safety: An agreement was signed between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of Health of Russian Federation for cooperation in the field of healthcare, medical education, and science.

• An agreement was signed between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), under MoHFW, and the Federal Service Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being of Russia in the field of food safety.

Maritime Cooperation & Polar Waters: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) and the Maritime Board of Russia on the Training of Specialists for Ships operating in Polar waters.

Fertilizers: An MoU was signed between Joint Stock Company (JSC) UralChem and three Indian Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) Limited, National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), and Indian Potash Limited (IPL), under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MoCF).

• The MoU aims to establish one of the largest integrated urea production facilities with the capacity of 1.8-2.0 million tonnes(MT) of urea with the budget outlay of USD 1.2 billion.

Customs: Signed a Protocol between the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Federal Customs Service of Russia for cooperation in exchange of Pre-arrival information in respect of goods and vehicles moved between India and Russia.

Postal Service: An International Tracked Packet Service (ITPS) agreement signed between India Post, under the Ministry of Communications, and Russian Post to improve post and parcel services between India and Russia.

Academic Collaboration: An MoU was signed between Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune (Maharashtra), under Ministry of Defence (MoD), and Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “National Tomsk State University” to work together in scientific and academic fields.

• An agreement was signed between University of Mumbai, Maharashtra; Lomonosov Moscow State University(Russia) and Joint-Stock Company Management Company of Russian Direct Investment Fund(Russia).

Media Collaboration: Prasar Bharati(PB), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), signed MoUs with Joint-Stock Company Gazprom-media Holding; National Media Group, Russia; BIG ASIA Media Group, and ANO “TV-Novosti”; “TV BRICS” Joint Stock Company, to strengthen cooperation in broadcasting.

22nd IRIGC-M&MTC:

Meeting: On the sidelines of the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, MoD, and the Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov co-chaired the 22nd session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi, reaffirming their commitment to co-development, co-production, and long-term industrial partnership.

• The commission is the highest-level institutional mechanism that steers all defence and defence-industrial cooperation between India and Russia.

Protocol: During the event, the two Ministers signed the 22nd IRIGC-M&MTC Protocol, highlighting ongoing and future defence collaboration.

Next Event: Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov extended an invitation to Union Minister Rajnath Singh, MoD to visit Russia to co-chair the 23rd session of the IRIGC-M&MTC in 2026.

Other Announcement:

e-Tourist Visa : During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Visit to India, PM Narendra Modi announced that the Government of India (GoI) will offer a free 30-day e-tourist visa to Russian citizens, with an aim to promote tourism, strengthen people-to-people ties, and boost cultural exchange between India and Russia.

Russia Joined IBCA: During the visit, Russia has formally joined the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA), an initiative led by the GoI, focused on conservation of Big Cats Worldwide.

Space Mirror Lab:  Delhi University (New Delhi) partnered with Higher School of Economics (HSE) University, Russia, to launch the Space Mirror Lab, with an aim to promote joint research, innovation, and education in space technologies and astrophysics.

• The lab will focus on next-generation satellites, provide hands-on training and workshops, access to advanced Russian research facilities and expertise, and support development of commercializable space technologies.

Invitation: Russian President Vladimir Putin invited PM Narendra Modi to visit Russia in 2026 to attend the 24th India–Russia Annual Summit.

About Russia:
President – Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister (PM) – Mikhail Mishustin
Capital – Moscow
Currency – Russian Ruble (RUB)