After Tianjin and Bishkek, New Delhi witnesses 'car diplomacy' between PM Modi and Putin

New Delhi: In yet another strong display of their warm camaraderie, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled in the same car to visit the INNOPROM Exhibition, immediately after ending their bilateral discussions at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday.

The exhibition is organised by the two countries’ ministries of industry and trade.

Both leaders had showcased the same bonhomie in Kyrgyzstan on August 31 when they travelled in the same car to the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games after their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek.

Last year too, PM Modi and Putin, had travelled in the same car to the venue of the bilateral meeting in China's Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO Leaders' Summit.

Dubbed as PM Modi's "car diplomacy" by analysts, it became a huge talking point on various social media platforms.

During their meeting in New Delhi on Friday, PM Modi presented a Russian translation of the Thirukkural to Putin.

The Thirukkuṟaḷ, a classic Tamil language text written by great Indian Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, contains 1,330 short couplets called Kurals and is hailed as one of the greatest literary creations around the world. Each of the Kurals is made up of seven words. The book, which contains teachings on virtues, wealth and love, is recognised for its universality and secular nature. The book has been translated into Russian by Naira Mkrtchyan.

The Tamil literary treasure has also inspired and influenced several foreign scholars, including renowned Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

"Presented President Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders," PM Modi posted on X.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov and several other officials were present during the meeting. Both leaders shared a warm hug before they sat down for their second meeting this year, having earlier met on the margins of the SCO Summit in Bishkek on August 31.

The meeting between the two leaders comes ahead of the BRICS Summit set to be hosted by India on September 12-13.

Earlier in the day, Putin arrived in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit. Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh received him at the airport in New Delhi.

"Warmly welcome President Vladimir Putin of Russia for the 18th BRICS Summit. He was received by MoS @KVSinghMPGonda at the airport. India and Russia share multifaceted and longstanding ties anchored in Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) posted on X.

India’s BRICS Chairship is guided by the theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, reflecting PM Modi's vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of "Humanity First." In addition, the leaders will exchange views on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities and share perspectives on global and regional matters of mutual importance.

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