Moscow, Sep 17: Russian President Vladimir Putin extended birthday greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and praised his contributions to strengthening bilateral ties between New Delhi and Moscow.
As PM Modi celebrates his 75th birthday, he received greetings from several world leaders. Many of these messages emphasised India’s increasing global influence. Wishing the Prime Minister, Putin said, “Your work as head of government has earned you great respect from your compatriots and enormous prestige on the international stage. Under your guidance, India has achieved impressive results in the social, economic, scientific and technological spheres.”
The Russian President lauded PM Modi’s efforts in strengthening the bilateral ties between New Delhi and Moscow and said that he appreciates the “close comradely” between the two nations.
“You are making a great personal contribution to strengthening the privileged strategic partnership between our countries and to promoting mutually beneficial Russian-Indian cooperation in various areas,” he said.
“I highly appreciate our close comradely relations. We will certainly continue our constructive dialogue and joint work on the current issues on the bilateral, regional and international agendas,” Putin added.
PM Modi and Putin last met on September 1 in China, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin. During this, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders also discussed regional and global issues, including the latest developments concerning Ukraine.
Prime Minister Modi reiterated his support for the recent initiatives that have been taken to address the conflict in Ukraine, and emphasised the need to expedite a cessation of the conflict and find a durable peace settlement.
During their meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their support for further strengthening of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Prime Minister Modi conveyed to President Putin that he was looking forward to receiving him in India for the 23rd Annual Summit later this year.
IANS