(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW DELHI, Dec 5 (KUNA) -- India and Russia agreed on Friday to deepen bilateral cooperation in several areas of mutual interest after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin held the India-Russia Annual Summit in New Delhi.
Addressing the media after the Summit in a joint press conference with Putin, Modi said that India-Russia friendship has remained steadfast like a pole star over past eight decades.
"India-Russia relations, rooted in mutual respect and deep trust, have always stood test of time. We discussed all areas of cooperation to further strengthen India-Russia ties," Modi said.
Highlighting the push for deeper economic partnership with Russia, the Indian prime minister said: "Taking India-Russia economic partnership to new heights is our common priority. We agreed on India-Russia economic cooperation programme till 2030."
During the Summit talks, Modi pointed out the need of ending the Ukraine war asserting India is always with the side of peace. "Whenever I had an interaction with the world leaders, in detailed discussions, I always said that India is not neutral. India has a side and that side is of peace. We support all efforts for peace and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all efforts for peace," Modi said.
The Russian president, on his part, underlined that during the Summit talks both the sides resolved to prioritise cooperation in areas of security, economy, trade and cultural spheres.
He also stated that both the countries are eying to increase annual bilateral trade volume to USD 100 billion, adding that India and Russia are gradually moving towards use of national currencies for bilateral payment settlements.
Putin also assured uninterrupted supply of fuel to India amid growing India-US tension over the purchase of Russian oil and gas. "Russia is a reliable supplier of oil, gas, coal, and everything that is required for the development of India's energy. "We are ready to continue uninterrupted shipments of fuel for the fast growing Indian economy," the Russian leader said.
Putin also pledged to cooperate with India to build new international logistics routes and construction of small modular nuclear reactors and floating nuclear power plants.
Several agreements have been inked on the occasion to deepen economic, trade, defence, media and cultural ties betweent the two parties and several ministerial level meetings have also been held. (end)
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