Congress president Sonia Gandhi's four-day visit to Russia beginning Monday is a proof of strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries, a senior Russian foreign ministry official said.
Gandhi, who arrived in Moscow as President Vladimir Putin's personal guest, is accompanied by External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh.
"Sonia's visit is an important event in intensive Indo-Russian contacts on superior and high levels," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said.
"The Russian side is sure that this visit will serve to strengthen Indo-Russian cooperation in all directions," Yakovenko said.
Talks with President Putin in St Petersburg, the former imperial capital of Russia, would be the political centerpiece of Sonia's Russia tour.
Putin will also host a lunch in her honour in the grand Konstantinovsky Palace raised from the ruins in 2003 to mark the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg.