In his message to President of India Pratibha Patil, Mr Medvedev said in particular: “Common long-term interests and similar approaches to key issues in modern politics, as well as our countries’ interest in developing mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation have enabled Russian-Indian relations to take on the nature of a strategic partnership.
These solid bonds form a strong foundation for deepening the dialogue between Russia and India in all areas, for the good of our nations and greater friendship and confidence in the world. I am sure that practical implementation of the agreements reached at the top level, and the successful organization of Year of India in Russia’s programme of events will enable us to carry out all of our joint plans”.
The message sent to Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh said in particular: “Russia and India are bound by relations of longstanding friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation. Through our joint efforts over these last years we have taken our relations to a new level, intensifying our political contacts, and expanding our trade and economic, military-technical and cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Our strategic partnership on the international stage, above all in the fight against international terrorism, has gained particular significance.
I believe that we all have an interest in continuing to develop the traditionally strong ties between our countries for the good of our nations, international cooperation and security, and we will put maximum effort into this work. The large-scale programme of events taking place as part of the Year of India in Russia creates good new opportunities for this kind of cooperation”.