New Delhi: Ahead of his two-day visit to India beginning Thursday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Moscow that he aims to take ties with India to a “qualitatively new level.” Speaking at an investment forum, he was quoted by media reports as saying, “We aim to elevate cooperation with the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of India to a qualitatively new level by strengthening its technological component. This is the objective of numerous joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture and other sectors.”
According to media reports, President Putin noted that he has already established a substantive economic dialogue with Chinese President Xi Jinping and intends to continue similar discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India.
“We have established a substantive dialogue on economic issues with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping. We will also discuss these topics in detail during the upcoming visit to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including increasing imports of Indian goods to our market,” he was quoted as saying.
President Putin will attend a private dinner hosted by Modi at his official residence in New Delhi soon after landing on Thursday evening. The two leaders are expected to hold informal talks and exchange views on a range of bilateral and global issues, including the Ukraine conflict.
On Friday, the leaders will co-chair the 23rd Annual Bilateral Summit, during which several agreements are expected to be signed. President Putin will later attend a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.
Cooperation in defence, civil nuclear energy, trade and agriculture are among the key issues on the agenda during the visit, which is being closely watched in Western capitals.