“Reliable Partner”: Putin Praises PM Modi’s Leadership, Hails India’s Independent Foreign Policy

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and praised India’s pursuit of an ‘independent’ foreign policy during an interaction with university students in Kaliningrad Region.

Putin attributed India’s high economic development rates to Modi’s leadership and expressed confidence in India’s reliability on the international stage. He acknowledged India’s right to pursue an independent foreign policy, emphasizing the importance of such a stance in organizing joint work.

Putin also applauded India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, highlighting Russia as one of the country’s highest investors and expressing a commitment to further significant investments. He mentioned Russia’s substantial investment of USD 23 billion in India, including projects by Rosneft.

The Russian President spoke positively about India’s diverse culture and the popularity of Indian movies in Russia. He underlined the strong cultural ties between the two nations.

This comes in the context of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent visit to Russia, where several key agreements were signed, including those related to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plants, pharmaceuticals and healthcare cooperation, and Foreign Office Consultation.