Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Moscow on Monday for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. Experts believe the tour is aimed at deepening the bilateral relations and accelerating economic and trade ties.
India is a long-time partner of Russia, and New Delhi has sought to continue its relationship with Moscow despite the US and western countries urging nations to sever ties, threatening sanctions for trade relations in certain sectors.
The two-day visit by Mr Modi is at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 22nd Russia-India annual summit - the highest dialogue mechanism in the partnership between the nations.
This would also be Mr Modi’s first foreign visit since returning to power for a third time in June.
India’s External Affairs Ministry said the leaders will “review the entire range of multifaceted relations and exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest”.
Mr Modi had last visited Moscow in 2019, whereas Mr Putin was in New Delhi in 2021.
The leaders have met several times at international summits and often spoken over the phone.
New Delhi has refused to explicitly condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and repeatedly abstained from voting on western-backed resolutions at the UN, since the war broke out in February 2022.
It has repeatedly stressed resolving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy.
“There is really no disagreement that Russia is a consistent and strategic partner; there are no hiccups in this relationship. The visit is linked with Indian and Russian economy, defence and geostrategy,” Anuradha M Chenoy, a Delhi-based expert on Russia and former dean of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told The National.
“It is an important visit, and the world will be watching. India has supported Russia; it did not criticise Russia in the UN and abstained continuously and Russia is very grateful for that, and Russia has supported India internationally.”
Trade ties
Russia is an important trade partner for India.
The South Asian nation exports drugs and other pharmaceutical products, chemicals, iron and steel and coffee.
Bilateral trade between the nations had reached an all-time high of $65.70 billion in the last financial year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
India’s exports were at $4.26 billion, whereas its imports stood at $61.44 billion in 2023-24.
New Delhi also started buying discounted oil from Russia to fulfil its energy requirements, despite crippling West-backed economic sanctions on Russia since its military campaign in Ukraine. India's oil imports increased tenfold in 2022, according to Bank of Baroda, reaching 20 per cent of the country's imported crude.
Those imports reached 40 per cent in 2023.
Arms trade partner
Russia has also been India’s critical source of weapons and military technology. Before the Ukraine war, New Delhi sourced around 85 per cent of the country’s military equipment from Moscow.
This began to slump in the wake of US sanctions on Russian arms exports, which have tightened since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Since the 2022 Ukraine war, a combination of tighter western sanctions and Russian prioritising of its war effort have seen India's imports of Russian arms drop to 36 per cent of New Delhi's total supply, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
New Delhi nonetheless has a long list of Russian-made military inventories ranging from fighter jets and nuclear submarines to battle tanks and assault rifles.
The two countries have deals on supplying 750,000 AK-203 assault rifles and a $5.43 billion deal for S-400 ‘Trimuf’ anti-aircraft system.
Russia has already delivered three units of the missiles and is expected to deliver the remaining two by 2025.
There are also reports that the Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft has plans to make big investments in India.
Indian Railways has also issued a contract with Russian Metrowagonmash, a leading engineering company, for manufacturing 120 Vande Bharat trains, the indigenous semi-high-speed trains.
Russia imports coal, fertilisers, pearls, precious and semi-precious stones and vegetable oils.
The two nations are working on a financial plan to bypass global dollar trade through their rupee-rouble mechanism.
“India-Russia trade has been in rupee-rouble trade bypassing the dollar, which is very convenient for India, but India is importing more but Russia is not importing as much,” Ms Chenoy said.
“There is a balance of trade issue where Russia has accumulated a lot of Indian rupees but because of sanctions, has not been able to utilise the rupees.”
“It will be high on Mr Modi’s agenda.”
Geostrategy
New Delhi and Moscow are strong geostrategic partners and are part of several trilateral and multilateral forums and economic corridors.
India is part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, an initiative by Russia, Iran, and India to enhance trade and transport connectivity among countries along its route to counter western sanctions.
New Delhi is also funding the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor, an ambitious sea route that aims at increasing trade between the two countries and India’s presence in the Asia-Pacific, where China remains a dominant player.
China has massively increased its economic and military footprint in the Asian region, particularly with Pakistan, India’s arch-rival.
Tensions have remained high between New Delhi and Beijing, particularly since 2020 when a deadly clash erupted between the rival militaries along the disputed Himalayan border region.
Russia tried to play peacemaker and de-escalate tensions between the regional powers and helped facilitate a meeting between the Indian and Chinese foreign ministers in Moscow in 2020.
Russia over the decades has vetoed several resolutions seeking UN interventions in Kashmir – the Himalayan disputed territory claimed by both India and Pakistan.
China also rules a portion of the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom known as Aksai Chin, which is now part of the Chinese Xinjiang and Tibet region.
New Delhi is engaged in a tense border dispute with both Islamabad and Beijing, with a decades-long armed insurgency raging in the part of Kashmir ruled by India.
"India is a long-time partner of Russia and New Delhi has sought to continue its relationship with Moscow despite ons with India,” Ms Chenoy said.
“Russia is willing to extend any goodwill that both countries might want but they don’t want to intervene in India’s domestic issues. They hope India and China will improve their relationship and there will be a resolution.”
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%C2%A0profile
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MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html" charset="UTF-8" /></head><body><!--PSTYLE=* Labels%3aFH Label 18 Sport--><p>Beach soccer</p><!--PSTYLE=BY Byline--><p>Amith Passela</p><p /></body></html>
BLACKBERRY
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Matt%20Johnson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jay%20Baruchel%2C%20Glenn%20Howerton%2C%20Matt%20Johnson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Star%20Wars%3A%20Ahsoka%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Various%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rosario%20Dawson%2C%20Natasha%20Liu%20Bordizzo%2C%20Lars%20Mikkelsen%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%C2%A0profile
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20with%2048V%20mild%20hybrid%20system%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E544hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%20at%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh700%2C000%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Elate%20November%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
