The friendship between India and Russia has stood the check of time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Friday, stressing the primary contours of their relationship.

Virtually addressing the plenary session of the sixth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok, he stated, “Most recently, it was seen in our robust cooperation during the Covid-19 pandemic, including in the area of vaccines. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the health and pharma sectors in our bilateral cooperation.”

The Prime Minister identified that power is one other main pillar of the bilateral strategic partnership.

“India-Russia energy partnership can help bring stability to the global energy market. We envisage an energy and trade bridge. I am happy that the Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor is making headway. This connectivity project, along with the International North-South Corridor, will bring India and Russia physically closer to each other,” he stated.

‘PM Modi appluads Vladimir Putin’s imaginative and prescient for improvement of…’

Applauding President Vladimir Putin’s imaginative and prescient for the event of the Russian Far East, Modi reiterated India’s dedication of being a dependable associate of Russia on this regard, as a part of its “Act East Policy”.

“This policy is an important part of our special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia,” he stated.

About bilateral cooperation, he stated, “Today I’m delighted that one of many India’s largest ship yards Mazagon Docks Ltd will associate with (Russia’s) Zvezda for building of a number of the most necessary business ships on the earth.

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“India and Russia are partners in space exploration through the Gaganyaan programme. India and Russia will also be partner in opening of the Northern Sea Route for international trade and commerce.”

The Prime Minister highlighted that regardless of the pandemic-related restrictions, there had been good progress in strengthening enterprise hyperlinks in lots of areas.

“This include long-term supply of coking coal to the Indian steel industry. We are also exploring new opportunities in agro industry, ceramics, strategic and rare earth minerals, and diamonds.”

Modi additionally cited the separate interplay between diamond representatives from Sakha-Yakutia and Gujarat as a part of this discussion board.

“I am confident that the one billion dollar soft credit line announced in 2019 will create many business opportunities between both countries,” he stated.

The Prime Minister states that it is usually helpful to convey collectively an important stakeholders areas of the Russian Far East and related states in India on the identical platform.

“We should take forward the useful discussions that took place during the visit of the Chief Ministers of key Indian states in 2019. I would like to extend an invitation for the Governors of 11 regions of the Russian Far East to visit India at the earliest,” he stated.

The Prime Minister talked about that Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri is in Vladivostok to symbolize India within the discussion board.

Noting that Indian expertise has contributed to the event of many resource-rich areas of the world, he stated: “India has a talented and dedicated workforce, while the Far East is rich in resources. So there is a tremendous scope for Indian workforce to contribute to the development of the Russian Far East. The Far Eastern Federal University which is where this forum is being held is home to a growing number of students from India.”

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