Vladivostok
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks on investment and trade Wednesday, as the Kremlin chief played host to Asian leaders in the country´s Far East.
Putin and Modi toured a naval shipyard after the Indian leader arrived for Russia´s three-day Eastern Economic Forum. Russia has hosted the meeting in its Pacific coast city of Vladivostok since 2015 to boost partnerships with Asian countries amid tensions with the West. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also to attend, along with Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga and Malyasian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
But Putin was spending most of his time on Wednesday with Modi, who highlighted his close ties with the Russian leader in an interview ahead of the forum. “Our relationship has special chemistry, special ease,” Modi told newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. “With each meeting with president Putin, we get closer and our relationship grows.”Modi pointed out that mutual ties also extend to nature, as every year “Siberian cranes migrate to my home state Gujarat”. The Indian leader said he also planned to discuss tiger conservation with Putin, a lover of big cats.—AFP
