Cultural Center hosted an evening celebrating Russian-Indian friendship dedicated to the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. In 1947, the USSR was one of the first to establish diplomatic relations with the newly formed country. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, sent a message of greetings to the attendees of the celebration arranged by the Rossotrudnichestvo.

Sergei Kalashnikov, Chairman of the Rossotrudnichestvo Presidium, opened the evening with a speech about Russian-Indian long-term friendship and mutual understanding that withstand the turbulent changes of the global political system.

Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federal Assembly of Russia, highlighted that the relationship between the two countries is not solely political. Both Russia and India stand for the principles of authentic democracy and the independence of its subjects; a growing number of countries willing to join the BRICS is the best proof of the statement above.

Indian Ambassador to Russia Pavan Kapoor was the honorable guest of the evening. “I would like to point out the particular role Vladimir Putin has been playing in the development of the Russian-Indian relationship over the past 20 years, starting with the strategic partnership between our countries we announced in 2000. Over the 10 years, our relationship evolved into a highly privileged strategic partnership and even further under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cooperation with President Putin,” he stated.

The culmination of the evening was its entertainment program – students of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia performed dances and sang songs in Hindi.