President Pranab Mukherjee hopes to further the bilateral ties between India and Russia following his visit to Moscow today.
President Mukherjee said that it will be the first time that an Indian military contingent would participate in the Victory Day parade to be held in Russia this year.
"At our forthcoming meeting in Moscow, I hope to continue the bilateral relationship on international developments of interest to India and Russia," President Mukherjee said.
"It will be an honour to be part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary, to recognize the monumental contributions of Russia to the victory over Nazism and Fascism. I am very happy an Indian military contingent will be part of the Victory Day parade for the very first time," he added.
On being asked about the long association with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Mukherjee said that the duo had earlier had a warm conversation on the vibrancy of India-Russia relations when the former visited India in December 2014.
The President also pointed out that relations between the two countries have had a long and rich history and go back several centuries.
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"Geopolitical realities and cultural affinities have ensured that ours has been a relationship marked by exceptional understanding and convergence of views, through all the realignments in the global political and economic landscape. Russia was the first country with which India concluded a formal agreement on strategic partnership in October 2000," President Mukherjee said.
When President Mukherjee was asked about the most successful areas of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, he said that they had made significant progress in the sectors of defence and nuclear energy.
He also pointed out that there is still considerable untapped potential for further strengthening of the relationship between India and Russia.
"At the recent Summit meeting (in December 2014), we identified initiatives to take our economic relations to a significantly higher level. We will be encouraging closer contacts between regions of our two countries to give further impetus in this direction. We are also re-invigorating our cooperation in Space," he said. "An area of considerable promise is cooperation in education, research and innovation. We are actively working towards creating institutional linkages between our educational and research institutions," he added.
Further, the President went on to highlight the multi-phase Kudankulam project between India and Russia and said that the two countries have set out a strategic vision for further development.
On being asked about the 'multifaceted' partnership and growing ties between the two countries in organisations such as the United Nations, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), President Mukherjee said that India's relationship with Russia covers a wide canvas, including cooperation in multilateral forums and consultations on global security issues and regional developments.
"On all of these, we have similar perspectives. The threat of terrorism in our shared neighbourhood is a matter of common concern. We work together in G-20 and BRICS to promote our shared interests. We look forward to Russia steering BRICS as its chairman this year. India has also been participating in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an Observer," he added.
Earlier today, President Pranab Mukherjee left for a visit to Russia, where he will attend the 70th Victory Day Parade, which marks the victory of Russia in the Second World War.
President Mukherjee will also be conferred with an honorary doctorate by the Diplomatic Academy of Russia.
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 long-standing 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.