Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has showered high praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India.
Delivering his annual address at Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based thinktank, Putin called Modi a patriot and praised his foreign policy, saying that a lot has been done under his leadership in India, ANI reported.
“A lot has been done under the leadership of PM Modi. He is a patriot of his country. His idea of ‘Make in India’ matters both economically and in ethics. Future belongs to India, it can be proud of the fact that it’s the largest democracy in the world,” according to Reuters translation of Putin’s speech in Russian.
Outlining India’s ‘tremendous’ growth from a British colony to a modern state, Putin said that around 1.5 billion people and ‘tangible’ development has earned the country everyone’s respect and admiration.
Hailing India and Russia’s special relationship, Putin further said: “It has been underpinned by a close ally relationship of many decades. We’ve never had any difficult issues and supported each other and that’s happening right now. I’m sure it’ll happen in future.”
Though India has repeatedly urged Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, the Modi government has refrained from directly criticising Moscow’s decision to invade its neighbour and abstained most United Nations votes and resolutions related to Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Putin informed that Modi has asked him to increase supply of fertilisers, according to Reuters.
“We have increased volume by 7.6 times. Trade in agriculture has almost doubled,” Putin said.
