New Delhi, Dec 31 (Representative) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday greeted his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the New Year 2021 and hoped that in the coming year both countries would step up constructive bilateral cooperation and coordinate efforts to address topical regional and global issues. In separate messages to President Kovind and Prime Minister Modi, the Russian leader said the privileged strategic partnership between the two countries was developing confidently despite the difficulties of 2020.
‘Russia and India are connected by relations of privileged strategic partnership, which, despite the difficulties and problems including the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, are developing confidently,’ he said. President Putin stressed that the two countries maintain a substantive political dialogue and carry out promising joint projects in various spheres, while cooperation within the SCO and BRICS yields good results. He expressed the hope that next year Russia and India would continue to work towards stepping up constructive bilateral cooperation as well as coordinating efforts to address topical issues on the regional and global agendas.