New Delhi, March 1 -- Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday, on the sidelines of the NXT Conclave hosted by ITV Network.

Artemyev, who has taken part in three space missions, presented the Prime Minister with the national flags of India and Russia that had flown to the International Space Station. He also gifted a copy of "On the Moon," a book written by Russian space science pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

Prime Minister Modi welcomed the gesture and spoke about the long history of space cooperation between India and Russia.

He said space exploration has always brought countries closer and highlighted how Russia has played a key role in India's Gaganyaan mission, especially in traini...