Putin arrives in India today: Su-57 jets, bilateral trade among topics on agenda; dinner planned with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a private dinner for Vladimir Putin on Thursday, hours after his arrival in New Delhi for a two-day India visit.

India is all set to welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin, his first visit to the country since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin will arrive in Delhi on Thursday evening for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive on Delhi for a two-day visit on December 4. (AFP)

The talks during Putin's two-day visit will focus on deepening defence ties, as well as on trade and energy cooperation.

Some highlights of Putin's India visit agenda include meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, a private dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortly after arriving in Delhi, discussion on trade and economic cooperation and other "promising projects" in industrial cooperation, innovative technologies, transport, peaceful space exploration, mining, healthcare and labour migration programmes, according to Putin's aide Yury Ushakov who noted that the bilateral political dialogue between India and Russia remains “regular and confidential”.

The President's visit also assumes significance as it comes months after the US's punitive actions against New Delhi, imposing 50% tariffs on Indian imports.

Here is what we know about the Modi-Putin talks being held in New Delhi on December 4 and 5:

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that there may be a discussion on the possibility of Russia supplying Su-57 fighter jets to India. India is in the process of procuring a batch of fifth-generation fighter jets.
• The programme also includes Putin's participation in the Russia-India Business Forum and a launch ceremony of the RT TV channel in India, reflecting the growing scope of cooperation.
• According to a Bloomberg report, oil trade will also be a point of focus as India will seek to balance its need for inexpensive crude, given the weight of its import cost, with a desire to avoid punitive US tariffs and sanctions.
• Putin and Modi are expected to discuss raising bilateral trade from the current $68 billion to $100 billion by 2030, and also improve systems to settle transactions in their own currencies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told local media Tuesday.
• Measures to insulate India-Russia trade from sanctions imposed by the US, an offer on small modular reactors for nuclear energy and deepening of defence cooperation will be on the agenda for the summit between PM Modi and President Putin.
• The two sides are also expected to sign agreements, including one on facilitating movement of Indian workers to Russia. Both sides might also discuss New Delhi's proposed free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.