(MENAFN- Live Mint) Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to India from December 4-5 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the visit, Putin will attend the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit and hold talks with PM Modi.

The President of India will also receive Putin and host a banquet in his honour.

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The visit will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia to review progress in bilateral relations, outline the vision for strengthening the 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership', and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement announcing the upcoming visit.

The two-day visit will mark President 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.

"They (the Russians) have been our friends through both fair and foul weather, and we are not going to sort of stop our defence cooperation with them anytime soon, but I do want to stress that India follows a policy of strategic autonomy," Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said in New Delhi on Friday, as quoted by news agency Reuters.

'Deepening the strategic partnership'

Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told news agency ANI that President Putin's visit to India marks a "return to the tradition of annual high-level summits," describing it as a major step toward deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

"Together with our Indian colleagues we have thoroughly prepared the agenda for the visit. We expect that all the meetings and negotiations that are to take place will be fruitful and will give new momentum for our two countries' strategic cooperation in all areas", Manturov, who is also Co-chair of the India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trad, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, told the news agency.

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The India-Russia Forum will convene in New Delhi, bringing together senior government officials and business leaders from both nations. Manturov said the forum is expected to explore ways to expand and diversify bilateral trade, including boosting Indian exports of equipment, raw materials and food products to Russia.

Earlier, the Kremlin said both sides are expected to adopt a joint statement and sign a "wide range of interdepartmental and business agreements" following the talks between the leaders. The two sides are also likely to focus on deepening cooperation in areas of civil nuclear energy, as per reports.

S-400 long-range anti-aircraft missiles

Kremlin Spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said that the sale of additional S-400 long-range anti-aircraft missiles could be on the agenda during the visit.

"Highly on the agenda and this could be discussed. Our military industry is working pretty well. Russian arms 36 % in theIndian armed forces and hopefully will continue," Peskov was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Russia also hopes to discuss the possibility of India acquiring the Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighter.

"SU- 57 is the best plane in the world. SU57 will be on the agenda," said Peskov

Earlier, during the Dubai 2025 air show, a senior representative of Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, said it was offering India both license production of air weapons for future-generation aircraft and integration of Indian weapons.

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Since 2000, India and Russia have shared a“Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.” Defence, energy and space have been key pillars of these ties. The trade between the two nations has grown from around $10–12 billion before 2022 to around $50–60 billion, mainly due to discounted Russian oil, after 2022.

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