India A “Close And Valued” Partner: Russian PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, who called India a "close and valued" partner. This was Modi’s first diplomatic engagement on the third day of his 10-day three-nation tour of Myanmar, Australia and Fiji.

"India is a close and valued partner for us," Medvedev told Modi when they met at the Myanmar International Conference Centre. Modi expressed confidence that the bilateral ties between the two countries will grow further.

It is pertinent to mention here that Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to travel to India next month for the 15th annual India-Russia summit.

When Modi met Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil in July, he had talked about strengthening India's strategic partnership with Russia in nuclear, defence and energy sectors.