A decades-old bonhomie: When Modi met Putin in 2001 as Gujarat CM | In pics

PM Modi's first visit to Russia took place on November 6, 2001.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in New Delhi on Thursday evening at nearly 6.30 pm.

After landing, he will go to the Prime Minister’s residence for a private dinner meeting with Narendra Modi. PM Modi and President Putin’s relationship go back nearly 25 years.

In 2001, Modi met Putin when he visited Russia as Gujarat chief minister, accompanying then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's delegation for the India-Russia summit.

Vajpayee was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by the Moscow State University.

Recalling his first meeting with Putin in 2001, PM Modi later in a interview said, “Then I arrived in Moscow with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I was the chief minister of Gujarat and this was our first meeting. But Putin did not at all make it clear that I am less significant, that I am from a small state or that I am a new person. He treated me as friendly as his own. As a result, the doors of friendship were open.”

This is Putin's first visit to India since 2021. The two leaders last met in person on September 1 this year in Tianjin, China, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.

PM Modi and Putin travelled in the Russian President' car to the venue of their bilateral meeting. Later, PM Modi remarked that he had held an insightful conversation with the Russian President.

PM Modi has been a strong advocate for peace in the Russian-Ukraine conflict and has often reiterated his message to President Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertiliser and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present.

Meanwhile, during this visit of the Russian President, the Russian delegation will hold comprehensive discussions on cooperation in areas such as trade and economic, scientific and technological, and cultural and humanitarian spheres. Current international and regional issues will also be on the agenda.