Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with a special gift — a Russian-language translation of the Thirukkural — during their bilateral talks. Thirukkural is a renowned ancient Tamil text comprising a total of 1,330 two-line verses, offering guidance on how to lead a good life and covering themes of virtue, wealth, and love.
Rather than being centred on any single deity, Thirukkural conveys good principles useful to everyone, built around three central themes — virtue, wealth, and governance and love. It is held in extremely high regard by Tamil people and is often referred to as the “Tamil Veda.” Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday morning to attend the 18th BRICS summit, and was received at Delhi airport by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.
The Ministry of External Affairs said India and Russia have long enjoyed strong relations, with cooperation continuing across several sectors including politics, trade, defence, and industry. Putin is also expected to attend and speak at the BRICS Business Forum. Raising bilateral trade between India and Russia to $100 billion by 2030 is likely to be a key topic in the two leaders’ talks; trade between the two countries currently stands at around $60 billion, and both nations are aiming to increase it by a further $40 billion to reach the $100 billion target.
India is chairing this year’s BRICS summit, with the 18th summit set to be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, focusing primarily on development, environmental protection, new technology, and cooperation among nations. BRICS currently comprises India, Russia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE.