India, Russia seek to promote visa regimes, promote tourism and media links

NEW DELHI: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed at the Russian Exhibition Centre ahead of his address at the Friends of India conclave with Sanskrit shlokas by a local singer on Thursday, it signalled that the two sides were keen to push soft diplomacy with Modi and Vladimir Putin ready to initiate steps to liberalise visa regimes, promote tourism and media links between state-run bodies and private organisations.

With hard diplomacy dominating Indo-Russian bilateral discourse for decades, the softer part emphasising on people-to-people contacts never received much attention. Delhi and Moscow, however, sought to initiate a process to promote cultural and people-to-people links at the annual summit. This was amplified when Modi said in his address to the Indian diaspora and Russian nationals that ties between the two countries go beyond trade and defence.

Modi especially appreciated the performance of Sati Kazanova, whom he described as a Russian citizen hailing from a Muslim family; a pop singer who could chant Vedic mantras so well. He said that it is a matter of pride that so many people in Russia express their fondness for India’s cultural heritage.

At the summit, Modi and Putin pushed for early conclusion of a cultural exchange programme from 2016-2018 and decided to intensify cultural cooperation between academic and research organizations of the two countries. It was also decided to have the Festival of Russian Culture in India next year.

An MoU was signed between Russian state-run VGTRK and Prasar Bharati for exchange of news and current affairs as well as other content to promote media ties. The two sides also endorsed greater interaction between the media companies within the multilateral formats under the SCO and BRICS auspices.

The two nations decided to promote tourism and it was agreed to issue six-month multiple entry tourist visas, based on reciprocity, which would further enhance tourism and people connect. The introduction of eTourist visas by India had further simplified visa procedures for Russians, which was reflected in the fact that nearly 20,000 Russians had already availed of this facility. Russia and India agreed to work towards further simplification and liberalization of visa arrangements, and consider measures such as group visa-free travel to increase tourist flows between them.