Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his Russian tour on Thursday by paying homage at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg. The Indian PM, who is currently on a four-nation tour to Europe, arrived in Russia from Spain on Wednesday.
Piskaryovskoye Cemetery is a memorial built for 500,000 Russians killed in Leningrad during World War II. Modi will also attend the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit on Thursday. He will then be received by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace, the Kremlin leader's official residence. Later, Putin will also host Modi at a private dinner in St Petersburg.
Modi will also attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. It will be the first instance of Indian participation in the business event as a partner country. Modi is also scheduled to interact with business leaders from both the countries.
India will also be hosting an exclusive India-Eurasia economic and business breakfast as part of the summit, according to NDTV.
#WATCH: PM Narendra Modi pays homage at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in Russia's St. Petersburg. pic.twitter.com/MnitpyWe8D
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 1, 2017
Although the two leaders will talk on bilateral trade and technological cooperation between Russia and India, the Kudankulam nuclear plant is set to be at the top of the agenda for PM Modi during his discussions.
The Kudankulam nuclear plant deal involves signing on units 5 and 6 of the plant that are expected to be built in collaboration with a Russian company. The deal between the two countries was to be signed by 2016 but a line of credit that was extended by India to Russia obstructed the process. If signed, the deal is set to be the highlight of the summit.
