New Delhi (Delhi) [India], December 6 (HBTV): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday highlighted the deepening economic partnership between India and Russia while addressing the India–Russia Business Forum in New Delhi, emphasising that the engagement extends far beyond energy cooperation and is aimed at strengthening multifaceted ties across sectors.
Putin said the Russian delegation had not come solely to discuss energy matters or sign contracts for oil and gas supplies. Instead, he said Moscow seeks to expand cooperation with India across a wide spectrum of areas.
‘What we want is development of our multifaceted relations with India in various fields,’ he said, adding that Russian businesses are eager to explore opportunities in India’s rapidly expanding economy. ‘We want to familiarise our economic operators with these opportunities so that both parties can satisfy the needs of each other.’
Putin noted that India and Russia remain ‘longtime trade partners’, with bilateral trade reaching record levels in recent years. ‘Trade volumes are growing at a sustainable pace and over the past three years we saw a record increase of up to 80%. As a result, last year the Russian–Indian trade volume reached 64 billion dollar,’ he said.
Highlighting the scale and potential of both markets, Putin said, ‘Russia and India have big consumer markets and an impressive economic, technological and resource potential.’
He also praised India’s economic performance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating, ‘Under the leadership of his Excellency Modi, India is conducting absolutely independent and sovereign policy and at the same time achieves very good results in the economic field.’
Putin said India is now among the fastest-growing economies in the world, with its GDP ‘almost doubled’ over the past decade and ‘in terms of purchasing power it increased by 2.5 times’. He attributed this growth to ‘sound economic policy’ and ‘landmark initiatives by Prime Minister Modi’, which he said have strengthened India’s technological autonomy.
He added that India’s processing and light industries, IT sector and pharmaceuticals hold leading global positions, and said Russia is studying India’s experience ‘with interest’ for its own national programmes on ‘import substitution and products with high value added’.
Reaffirming the bilateral goal set jointly with Prime Minister Modi, Putin said, ‘This comprehensive document aims at making sure that we can achieve the goal Mr. Modi and I set for ourselves so that we can increase the trade volume by 2030 to $100 billion.’
He said Russian companies are prepared ‘to manifold increase the purchase from India of a widest range of goods and services’, adding that the synergy between the two economies is ‘obvious’.
Putin said it would be ‘logical’ for projects aimed at increasing Indian exports to Russia to receive priority under India’s new export support programme. He assured the business community that Russian ministries and authorities would support all initiatives that strengthen bilateral economic exchanges.
He also called for greater use of national currencies in bilateral trade. ‘Tangible advantages are offered by the use of national currencies. It makes it possible to ensure uninterrupted financial transactions regardless of external developments,’ he said, adding that improved transport and logistics links are crucial.
Putin noted that the modernisation of the Northern Sea Route is underway to support the movement of Indian goods to global markets. He said work is progressing on the ‘corridor so south north from Russia and Belarus to the Indian Ocean’ and on upgrading infrastructure along the Northern Sea Route to facilitate the supply of Indian goods to world markets.
(ANI)