On 8-10 February 2020, a group of ladies-entrepreneurs from the Russian city of Vladivostok, who are also Rotary Club members, were on a visit to Chennai. They came at the invitation of the Chennai Rotary Club (Ambattur) for the annual conference. “BRICS Generation” Association and Indo-Russian Chamber of Commerce (IRCC) were also playing hosts to the Russian delegation.

The trip was timed to the celebrations of the 150^th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. In accordance with the official program, the delegation visited medical and educational facilities run with the full assistance of Rotary Club and also attended the annual Conference of the Rotary Club, Ambattur branch. The “BRICS Generation” hosted a dinner reception for the Russian guests, which was attended by its President Mr. R.Muthu Kumar, Mr. O.N.Avdeev, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Chennai, Dr. Sirkali Siva Chidambaram, Carnatic musician and Mr. P.Thangappan, Secretary General of IRCC.

The visit was a step to augment the ties between the civil societies of Vladivostok and Chennai. That was especially significant in view of the Russian-Indian Memorandum on development of maritime communications between the two port cities that was signed on the margins of Prime Minister N.Modi’s official visit to Vladivostok in September 2019.