India is conducting independent and sovereign policy under leadership of PM Modi, achieving very good results: President Putin

New Delhi [India], December 5 : India is pursuing an independent and sovereign policy under the leadership of PM Modi and achieving very good results, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, noting that the Indian economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world.
Addressing the India-Russia Business Forum in New Delhi, President Putin said that due to initiatives by PM Modi such as the Make in India programme, India is becoming technologically sovereign.
He said that the Russian delegation did not only come to discuss energy issues and sign contracts for the supplies of oil and gas.
"What we want is the development of our multifaceted relations with India in various fields. Prime Minister stressed on many occasions in our private talks that India has vast and growing opportunities in many fields, but up until now they haven't been used to the extent both parties want to see it. That is precisely the reason why we convened this forum," he said.
"I would like to stress that under the leadership of PM Modi, India is conducting an independent and sovereign policy and at the same time achieving very good results. Today, the Indian economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Thanks to the sound economic policy and landmark initiative by PM Modi as the Make in India programme, India is becoming technologically sovereign. India's IT and pharmaceutical sectors take a leading position in the world," he said.
President Putin said Russia and India are long-time trade partners and trade volumes are growing at a sustainable pace.
"And over the past three years, we saw a record increase of up to 80%. As a result, last year, the Russian-Indian trade volume reached USD 64 billion. There are vast opportunities for further increase of bilateral trade and investment. Russia and India have big consumer markets...Once again, I would like to stress that under the leadership of PM Modi, India is conducting absolutely independent and sovereign policy and at the same time achieves very good results in the economic field..."
"I pay particular attention to deepen multi-faceted economic ties between Russia and India. Following today's meetings, we adopted a document to develop India-Russia economic cooperation...Russian businesses are ready to increase purchases from India across a wide range of goods and services. I want to assure the businesses that Russia will support all initiatives," he said.
Putin arrived in the national capital on Thursday on two-day state visit.