“I cannot imagine that Modi could be intimidated or forced to take any actions, steps and decisions that are contrary to the national interests of India and Indians,” Putin was quoted as saying at the 14th VTB Investment Forum ‘Russia Calling’.
The Russian President spoke favourably of PM Modi‘s tough stance when it comes to defending India’s national interests.”I just look at what is happening from the outside, and sometimes, to be honest, I’m even surprised at his tough position on defending the national interests of India,” Putin added.
Earlier this year, the Russian President praised PM Modi’s ‘Make in India‘ initiative and added that Russia can draw inspiration from the success stories of its partners, such as India, to promote the growth of its own domestic industries.
Addressing the forum, the Russian President said the policy pursued by PM Modi is the main ‘guarantor’ of relations between Russia and India.
“The relations between the two nations have been developing progressively in all directions, and the main guarantor of this is the policy pursued by PM Modi. He belongs precisely to that cohort of world political figures about whom I spoke without naming names,” Putin said.
Noting that the trade turnover between India and Russia was growing, the Russian President said, “Last year it was 35 billion dollars per year, and in the first half of this year it was already 33.5 billion. That is, the growth will be significant. Yes, we all understand that, to a large extent, India receives preferences due to discounts on Russian energy resources. Well, he’s actually doing the right thing.”
“If I were them, I would also do the same if the situation develops this way. They make money, and rightly so. But, of course, this is not enough. We have much more opportunities. In the global ranking of the world’s economies by purchasing power parity and by economic volume, India ranks third in this list and Russia fifth,” he added.
The Russian leader also used the platform to stress that the Northern Sea Route needs to be developed, calling it a ‘very promising direction in the field of logistics’.
(With agency inputs)
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