Modi to attend St Petersburg international economic forum

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Russia in June to attend St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where India has been invited as a 'Guest Country', and the two sides are working on the "bilateral aspect" of the visit.

Confirming the invitation for the Forum to be held from June 1 to 3, External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "As part of this, the Prime Minister will attend the Forum as Guest of Honour. Other details of the Prime Minister's visit are being worked out" and will be announced once they are finalised.

Earlier this week, Dmitry Peskov, Spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin who will inaugurate the Forum at St Petersburg, had said Russia was assigning a "high priority" to Modi's visit.

"We will carry out detailed preparations for the visit, in terms of both the bilateral aspect and the multilateral forum as a whole," Peskov had said.

The Forum is an international economics and business event held annually with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation, SPIEF said.

In 2016, the Forum welcomed more than 12,000 participants, among them political and business leaders, leading scientists, public figures and members of the media from all over the world to discuss the most pressing issues facing Russia and the global community, it added.