Russian PM to arrive today

Russian Prime Minister Viktor A Zubkov will arrive here on Tuesday on a two-day visit. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation consisting Deputy Prime Minister Alexander D Zhukov, Minister for Economic Development & Trade Elvira S Naibullina, Minister for Culture & Mass Communications Alexander Sokolov, senior officials and a large business delegation. He will hold discussions with President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance minister P Chidambaram and Leader of Opposition L K Advani.

During the visit, the Russian PM will participate in the inauguration of the ‘Year of Russia’ in India, a programme of events in diverse fields such as economy, science and culture. It will be followed by the ‘Year of India’ in Russia in 2009. Zubkov will attend the Second Indo-Russian Forum on Trade and Investment. The Russian Prime Minister will also visit Agra.