A dialogue of eminent Indian experts on Russia and Russian experts on India, called the Ganga-Volga Dialogue of Civilizations took place in New Delhi . The idea of the Dialogue had emanated from discussions between Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin. The Dialogue touched upon four broad themes in the context of India-Russia bilateral cooperation; viz. education, culture and civilization; entrepreneurship and innovation; trade routes including inland navigation; and, India, Russia and Greater Eurasia.
Shri V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs gave the inaugural address at the Dialogue. Mr. Nikolay Kudashev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation and Shri Mahesh Poddar, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) also spoke at the inaugural session. Evaluating the current state of India-Russia cooperation in various spheres and in emerging and new areas which provide significant possibilities of cooperation such as the Russian Far East and Eurasia, the scholars agreed that efforts should be made to encourage the younger generation of scholars in both countries to engage with each other through the platforms of academic and scientific research, language studies, exchange of youth delegations etc.
The scholars who spoke at the Dialogue included Dr. Tatiana Shaumyan-Head, Centre for Indian Studies under the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies, Dr Evgeniy Kozhokin- Vice-rector for scientific affairs, Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Dr. Valeriy Kashin, Ms. Olga Solodkova, Mr. Alexey Kupriyanov, and Ms. Svetlana Ryzhakova from the Russian side.
From the Indian side, Dr. Anirban Ganguly, Director – Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, Ambassador Asoke Mukerji- India’s former Permanent Representative to the UN, Sh. Mahesh Poddar, , Member of Parliament, RajyaSabha, Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, Member, Mission High Level Committee – Atal Innovation Mission, Prof Neelakshi Suryanarayan, Prof Gulshan Sachdeva, Dr Uttam Sinha, Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Shri Sanjay Pulipaka, and Dr Ashwin Johar spoke at the Dialogue.
The Ganga-Volga Dialogue of Civilizations was organized by Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. During their visit to India, the Russian scholars are being taken for a cultural visit to Bodh Gaya and Varanasi before their return.