Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again showered praise on India’s rapid rise under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, insisting it is high time that Russia’s natural partner and ally for decades is included among the great powers of the world.
“India should certainly be included among the great powers: one and a half billion people, the highest rates of economic growth among large economies, an ancient culture, and so on. And the prospects, very good prospects for growth,” Putin said in the plenary session of the 21st annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club held in the southern Russian city of Sochi.
The Russian President, who has emphasised in the past that the process of forming a multipolar world is underway, went on to say that he has great respect for PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
“India is a great country, the largest in population now – 1.5 billion people, plus 10 million annually. It is developing rapidly. It is the leader in economic growth among large economies. How much is it? I think 7.4 percent GDP growth per year…
“And India is one of those countries whose development rates will be faster than even the successfully developing economies of today. Therefore, our vision of what, how and where, in what areas and at what rates our relations should develop is based on the realities of today. And the realities are such that the volume of our cooperation increases many times over,” he stated.
Citing the steady trend from the first nine months of 2024, Putin highlighted that Russia’s trade turnover with India is increasing annually.
“We are developing relations with India in all areas… This also concerns the economy – it is developing at a good pace, and also in different areas. There’s energy. By the way, we are ready: in addition to oil supplies, supplies to the Indian market have increased many times over, this concerns the possibility of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) supplies. We are actively working in the field of nuclear energy and are building nuclear power plants in India. We have great respect for the idea of Prime Minister Modi Make in India, for his call Make in India and are ready to invest,” he mentioned.
