Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a summit-level gathering focused on -- not military or strategic relations -- but diamonds.

The two heads of government will appear together at the World Diamond Congress in Vigyan Bhavan, where the Indian prime minister is expected to unveil measures on the direct import of uncut diamonds from Russia that will greatly lower transaction costs for Indian traders.

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The focus on the gleaming hard stones is a shift in previous yearly summits between New Delhi and Moscow that had been focused on strategic cooperation, major defense deals and big energy agreements.

While India and Russia are expected to sign 15 deals in these fields, including a new nuclear power project, the leaders are apparently making a push towards expanding bilateral trade.

Putin and Modi are also expected to witness the signing of a several deals with Russian state-controlled company Alrosa which controls over a third of global diamond production.

Alrosa supplies close to one-third of the world's rough diamonds and Indian diamond cutters.

India has announced creating a special economic zone for processing diamonds that is mainly located in Gujarat.

Despite close strategic relations between New Delhi and Moscow in the past, trade stands at only $10 billion, which has been on the decline in the past couple of years.

Putin said it is important to reverse this trend.