The Delhi-Moscow friendship has achieved another milestone as the two nations celebrate its maiden 20th Year of Strategic this year. The Indo-Russian friendship celebration event took place on March 7-8 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi, celebrating the unshakable bond between India and Russia that goes past merely strategic partnership. The Declaration Document of strategic partnership was signed between the two countries on October 5, 2000.
Inaugurating the event Ambassador of Russia to India Nikolay Kudashev said, “The maiden two-day event aims at celebrating our friendship as the year 2020 is the 20th anniversary year of establishing the Russian-Indian strategic partnership and the 10th anniversary year of elevating this unique bond to the level of special and privileged strategic partnership. This year is full of other remarkable anniversaries. We are looking forward to hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the celebrations in Moscow. This year also marks 550 years of Russian-Indian people-to-people contacts, which were initiated by a Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin, who visited India even before Vasco da Gama and wrote a vivid description of this beautiful country. 80 years ago Rabindranath Tagore, the first Indian to ever receive the Nobel Prize, visited the Soviet Union.”
The event felicitated the progressive development of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. These relations are unique, confiding and mutually beneficial by nature, encompassing all possible areas of cooperation between the two nations.
Expressing his pleasure of the event the Ambassador added, “This weekend’s programme is an endeavour to commemorate similar civilizational values, time-tested friendship, mutual understanding, trust, common interests and proximity to approaches to the fundamental issues of social and economic development. It will help to promote cultural and business ties, showcase our traditions, art, music and dance, cuisines, crafts, literature and tourism potential.” The highly successful event also witnessed the convergence of businessmen, culturists, diplomats, ex-pats, historians, HNIs and everyone who revels in cross-cultural exchange. Russian traditional items were offered, including such signature dishes as pelmeni, borsch, piroshki were served at the fest. A stall with Russian books in Hindi and English was very popular among the guests of the celebration. A yoga workshop too was held. Traditional Russian music (Balalaika recital, chorus, folk dances) interweaved with Indian music (Bharatnatyam, Hindustani vocal, folk dances) enthralled the dignitaries present at the event.
The two nations have been long-standing partners for 73 years now. The two counties first set up the diplomatic relations on April 3, 1947. This was followed by the visit from Kirill Novikov, First Ambassador of the USSR to the Republic of India, who arrived in Delhi on December 21, 1947.
Traditionally the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on six major components comprising of politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism co-operation and space and economic growth. The two countries look all set to take their partnership beyond transactions and trade to upholding respect, trust and bonhomie. The friendship between India and Russia also brings the unison between rich heritage, art, culture, cuisine, folklore, history and much more of the two countries.