🇷🇺🤝🇮🇳 The Indian Council of World Affairs and the Russian International Affairs Council held a forum discussion in New Delhi today, with experts from both organizations discussing the topic 'India-Russia Strategic Partnership: New Challenges & Opportunities in Changing World Order.' The discussions were led by Amb Vijay Thakur Singh, DG of ICWA, and Dr Andrey Kortunov, DG of RIAC. Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov and Indian Ambassador to Russia Pavan Kapoor also shared their insights.


During the forum, Ambassador Alipov highlighted the significance of India's current presidencies in the G20 and the SCO emphasizing the importance of a consensus-based approach to addressing the challenges of emerging energy and food crises and sustainable development needs, particularly in the Global South. He also praised the success of the bilateral efforts in establishing an independent payment system and increasing the use of national currencies in mutual settlements, resulting in a record high trade turnover of over USD 30 billion last year.


The Russian Ambassador also stated that the Russian-Indian strategic partnership, rooted in a rich history, remains critical in safeguarding the fundamental interests of the people of both friendly nations.

🌐 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival was held in Mumbai on January 27-31, and was the largest ever, with 58 films from 14 countries being showcased. At the closing ceremony, the winners of the various competition categories were announced.

The Best Film award was given to "Godavari" from India. The Russian film "Don’t Bury Me Without Ivan" directed by Lyubov Borisova received a Special Jury Award while the Kyrgyz film "The Road to Eden" received a special mention from the jury for its message of hope and warning about the risk of losing cultural values in turbulent times. The Best Director was given to Xiaozhi Rao for "Home Coming" from China, the Best Actor (Female) - to Rano Shodiyeva for "The Fate of a Woman" from Uzbekistan, the Best Actor (Male) - to Askar Ilyasov for "Paralympian" from Kazakhstan.

Seven films from Russia were presented at the festival, with two of them being included in the main competition. The list includes Anton Megerdichev's historical drama "The Heart of Parma", "Ivan Denisovich" directed by Gleb Panfilov and based on the novel by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the "Chink: the Tailed Detective" animated picture and other Russian films.


Ivan Kudryavtsev, head of the selection committee of the Moscow International Film Festival, was among the members of the international jury headed by Indian director Rahul Rawail.

Vladimir Putin visited the Mamayev Kurgan memorial in Volgograd as part of the celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad

The President laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame in the Hall of Military Glory and honoured the memory of the fallen soldiers with a minute of silence.

See more on the Kremlin’s official website.