Putin praises India, calls Indians talented and driven
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday praised Indians once again, calling them "talented" and "driven". He stated that India has great potential to achieve outstanding development results. He was speaking at an event commemorating Russia's Unity Day. Last month also Putin praised the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the future belongs to India.
Why does this story matter?
Putin's back-to-back praises for India come weeks after India abstained from voting on a resolution by United Nations (UN) to condemn Russia annexing the four Ukrainian regions after seven months of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The West is pressurizing India to denounce Russia and cut diplomatic and economic ties with the former Soviet state, in an attempt to align India with itself.
India will achieve outstanding development: Putin
"Let's look at India: a talented, very driven people with such a drive for internal development," he said, according to Reuters which cited his translated speech originally delivered in Russian. "India will achieve outstanding results in terms of its development - there are no doubts - and almost one-and-a-half billion people: now that's potential," he said.
What else did Putin say?
Putin also spoke about colonialism in Africa as well as Russia's distinct civilization and culture. He accused the West of plundering Africa. He claimed that the colonial powers' level of prosperity was largely dependent on African plunder. He went on to say that Russia is a large part of European culture and is religiously associated with it.
Praise for India and Modi
Last month, the Russian President hailed India and PM Modi for the efforts. Putin hailed the Make in India initiative as a "significant effort." He said India had come a long way from being a former British colony to being a democratic country. "A lot has been done under the leadership of Narendra Modi. He is a patriot...The future belongs to India," he said.
India-Russia bilateral ties
The Russian president had claimed there were no "outstanding issues" between India and Russia, two longtime allies. He wished for continued goodwill in the two nations' relations in the years to come. He claimed that they increased the fertilizer supply to India 7.6 times when PM Modi asked him--indicating that economic cooperation between Delhi and Moscow was also expanding.
A little about progress in trade
Due to an increase in the imports of oil and fertilizers, trade between India and Russia has reached an all-time high. Only the first five months (April-August) of this fiscal year (2022-23) saw $ 18,229 million in trade between the two nations, according to The Indian Express. With this increase in trade, Russia has moved up from 25th place last year to become India's seventh-largest trading partner.
