𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢-𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘋𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 77𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴

Chennai, 16 Dec. 2024: Year 2024 has turned to be an eventful year of the Russian-Indian relations, marking 77th anniversary of the establishment of our bilateral ties, said Consul General of the Russian Federation for South India Valerii Khodzhaev. This cooperation has continued to develop in the complex geo political environment of the world's objective transformation into a qualitatively new polycentric model. The intensified political and economic dialogue between the two countries reflects their natural aspiration towards a deeper and more expanded engagement with the due focus on broader strategic interests.

(L to R) Andrei M.Erokhin Attache, Economic Affairs, P.A. to Consul General of the Russian Federation in Chennai; Valerii Khodzhaev, Consul General of the Russian Federation for South India; Alexander Dodonov, Director, Vice Consul of Consulate General of Russia; Air Marshal M Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD, Indian Air Force Veteran Chairman & President, The Peninsula Foundation

The important milestone was the bilateral summit in July 8-9 in Moscow. The rich deliverables of the leaders interaction comprise a slew of agreements underpinned by the mutual commitments to strengthen multifaceted cooperation in economic, trade, financial, energy, scientific, cultural and transport logistics fields, including in the increased operationalization of North-South and Vladivistok - Chennai corridors, accelerations of FTA talk between the Eurasian Economic Union and India.

Press meet Youtube coverage link👇

Russia and India maintained close cooperation in the leading joint international platforms  BRICS, G20, SCO. The XVI BRICS summit, held in Kazan, Russia on October 22-24 as proved to be one of the issues of common economic and financial agenda, as well as the further membership expansion of the grouping, that has evolved in the worlds present - day most attractive and ambitious non-Western geoeconomics project.

Our countries actively contributed to the positive outcome of a G20 summit in Brazil on November 18-19 by promoting the role of the global south and East majority in the world's mainstream political and financial institutions.

The SCO summit in Astana (Kazakhstan) on July 3-4 witnessed the Russian and Indian energetic participation in the combined efforts to build the stable and predictable Eurasia which is passing through the process of consolidation patently manifested in the SCO expansion in the recent years

The multilayer Russia-India strategic partnership, resting on the long-term time-tested and trust-based collaboration will celebrate it's 25th anniversary in 2025. It will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the future of our peoples in the rapidly evolving world dynamics

During the press meet, Consul General of the Russian Federation for South India Valerii Khodzhaev touched upon the following points:

• In 2024, contacts between Russia and India on cultural and humanitarian tracks developed intensively. In particular, representatives from India took an active part in The World Festival of Youth (February – March, Sochi, Russia), the Moscow International Film Festival (April, Moscow, Russia), the IX BRICS Young Scientists Forum (November, Sochi, Russia), the Vyzov Prize for Future Technologies (December, Moscow, Russia) and others.
• The Russian Center of Science and Culture in Chennai (RCSC in Chennai), for its part, continued to introduce citizens of Southern India to Russian culture, scientific achievements, and opportunities to get an education in Russia. 
• In 2024, the RCSC in Chennai held more than 80 events, in which more than 30,000 Indian residents participated.
• Russian language courses (200 students) continued to operate on the basis of the RCSC in Chennai. This year we are seeing an increase in the number of requests from Tamil Nadu educational institutions to organize Russian language courses on their basis. Next year we plan to pay special attention to this issue.
• RCSC in Chennai also carried out work to meet the needs of Indian students in Russian education. In May and June, Russian Educational Fairs were held in Tamil Nadu with the participation of leading Russian universities. We plan to organize similar fairs next year.
• The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom played an active role in the implementation of scientific events in Chennai. Together RCSC in Chennai, Rosatom and the Tamil Nadu Science Center conducted the Scientific Olympiad «Precise Energy» (August) and the Science Festival (November) in which totally about 13,000 schoolchildren and students participated.
• A number of events were organized dedicated to scientific, technical and cultural cooperation between Russia and India. Among them, I would like to particularly note the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma Flight on board a Soviet spacecraft and the 77th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and India.
• In 2024, we continued our work to introduce Russian culture to the Indian public. Significant events in this area were: the annual Festival of Russian Culture, which was held in 7 cities of Tamil Nadu (Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, Tiruchengode, Sivakasi, Singanallur, Mettupalayam, January  February) and the «Embassy of Excellence» classical music concert performed by Russian musicians (June). Considering the positive response from the public, next year we plan to increase the number of venues for such concerts.
• Screenings of modern Russian feature films were held by RCSC in Chennai on an ongoing basis. A total of 20 feature films were screened, 5 of which were screened at the 22nd Chennai International Film Festival (December). The total audience for the screenings was over 5,000 viewers.
• Supporting the decision to plant trees in Chennai to create a comfortable urban environment, RCSC in Chennai together with ExNoRa International Foundation and with the support of the Greater Chennai Corporation carried out planting of 50 trees in Jeeva Park, Chennai (June).
• We also note the «Green Footprint» initiative of Rosatom, implemented jointly with the RCSC in Chennai and with support of the Greater Chennai Corporation (December). A total of 17 colleges took part in the initiative, which resulted in the cleaning of Edward Elliots Beach in Chennai.
• The year 2024 is marked by the fact that after a long break, the legendary Tal Chess Club resumed its work at the RCSC in Chennai. Many Indian grandmasters, including world champion Viswanathan Anand, once walked out of the doors of this club. On December 22, we plan to hold the 1st Tamil Nadu State Level Childrens Chess Tournament.

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