Bishkek, September 1: Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Monday that the India-Russia relationship is strengthening based on the principles of a privileged strategic partnership, aided significantly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal attention.
During a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, President Putin expressed his satisfaction, saying, “I would like to note with pleasure that the Russian-Indian relationship is becoming stronger based on the principles of a privileged strategic partnership. Certainly, Prime Minister, this has been made possible by your personal attention to the development of Russian-Indian relations and the warm personal and friendly ties that have developed between us, both at the business level and personally. For this, I am very grateful.”
He added, “I am very pleased to meet again. This time, our meeting is taking place on the eve of the SCO summit, an organization committed to deepening relations and contacts between the Global South and Eastern countries, promoting socio-economic and cultural development in the region, and fostering a just and multipolar world.”
Putin recalled Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar’s recent visit to Moscow, stating that he fully agrees with everything said during that trip.
He noted that in 2027, India and Russia will celebrate the 80th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and mentioned that Russia is seriously preparing for the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi this September.
The Russian President remarked, “Trade and economic cooperation is showing generally positive trends. There was a slight decline last year, but in the first six months of this year, trade has already increased by 2.6 percent. Just a week ago, a meeting of the intergovernmental commission took place in Moscow, which also showed good results.”
He highlighted that India ranks among the leading countries in terms of the number of students studying in Russia, with this figure increasing sevenfold over the past decade. He termed this a “remarkable achievement,” noting that the current number stands at approximately 40,000.
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