President Mukherjee to visit Russia on May 7

President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on a five-day visit to Russia on May 7 and will be present at the 70th anniversary of Victory Day, which marks the victory of Russia in the Second World War.

Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar shared the President's itinerary with the media on Wednesday.

"The President would be travelling on May 7 and will be returning from Russia on May 11. The visit is at the invitation of President [Vladimir] Putin and this is to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day, which marks the victory of Russia in the Second World War," he said.

"This would be President's first visit to Russia as President. He would be accompanied by the Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha and other senior officials. He would have a delegation of vice-chancellors and heads of national institutes with him. A

75-member Indian Army contingent from the Grenadiers will be taking part in the military parade in Moscow," he added.

Jaishankar also said that President Mukherjee will hold a bilateral meeting with President Putin during his visit.

"Apart from the President's participation in these events, he would be holding a bilateral meeting with President Putin and he will also have separate meeting with rectors of important Russian Universities and vice-chancellors of important Indian Universities who are travelling with him. This would be held at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU)," he said.

"In terms of outcomes, we are looking at an agreement in science and technology which would be signed by the Department of Science and Technology at the Russian Science Foundation. There are also eight MoUs which would be signed by higher education institutions," Jaishankar added.

President Mukherjee will also be conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Diplomatic Academy of Russia.

"During his visits, he would be meeting leading Russian endologists and finally, he would be inaugurating the Namaste Russia Cultural Festival which would commence from the time of his visit," the Foreign Secretary said.

President Mukherjee's visit of Russia comes after President Putin visited New Delhi for a brief visit in December 2014. Relations with Russia are a key pillar of India's foreign policy and Moscow has been a longstanding time-tested partner of New Delhi.

India-Russia ties have an enhanced level of cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationship including political, security, trade and economy, defence, science and technology and culture.