Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached Russia on Wednesday, 2 September, for the crucial Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.
Upon his arrival in Moscow, Singh opted for the traditional Namaste to greet top Russian officials. The video of the interaction is winning a lot of praise on Twitter.
"Reached Moscow this evening. Looking forward to my bilateral meeting with the Russian Counterpart General Sergey Shoygu tomorrow," he had tweeted.
The video shows Singh wearing a mask, being accompanied by Indian ambassador DB Venkatesh Varma and being welcomed by Major General Bukhteev Yury Nikolaevich at the Moscow airport.
The Namaste has become a popular form of greeting among world leaders during this coronavirus pandemic.
The video has gone viral and has invited a lot of praise from people all over the country.
“Namaste Sir, Indian tradition highlighting zero touch greeting. Showing the world a new way forward. Feeling proud as an Indian,” read a comment on the post.
“Love the way you are constantly ‘Namaste’ing everyone … Kudos Sir! Good luck for the meet and have a good time in Moscow,” said another user.
Three-Day Visit to Russia
Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Russia till 5 September, where he will be attending a combined meeting of defence ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member States in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of victory in the World War II.
The SCO comprises eight member states – India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The heads of the states are expected to deliberate on security challenges like terrorism and extremism and ways to deal with them, an official told, reported PTI.
Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe and Pakistan Pervez Khattak, too, are expected to attend the key meeting.
This is Rajnath Singh's second visit to Moscow since June.
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