STRELNA (Russia) (Sputnik) — Russia and India have agreed to ramp up the bilateral trade turnover and the cooperation in the spheres of economy, humanitarian affairs and politics, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday following the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We outlined the new joint prospective projects. The agreements that we reached, were reflected in the St. Petersburg declaration, where we framed the steps, which will facilitate the future expansion of bilateral cooperation in the spheres of politics, economy and humanitarian affairs," Putin said.
A key priority for the countries will be the stimulation of the turnover’s growth and improvement of its structure, the Russian president noted, stressing that the trade between Moscow and New Delhi had increased by 29 percent in the first quarter of 2017.
"Currently the Indian-Russian partnership has a really strategic and a highly privileged nature," Putin added, underlining that Moscow and New Delhi established the diplomatic ties 70 years ago.
The Russian leader stressed that his negotiations with Modi were fruitful and noted that India is a partner of the ongoing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where the Indian prime minister will make a speech as a main guest of honor on Friday.
SPIEF, held in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg between Thursday and Saturday, is a major global platform for communication between business representatives and discussion of crucial economic issues. The Sputnik News Agency is the official media partner of the forum.
