In his message to Indian President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, Mr Putin noted that, “throughout the centuries, the peoples of Russia and India have always felt sincere friendship for each other, genuine interest in each other’s rich cultural and creative heritage and the desire for mutually beneficial and diverse cooperation”.
Mr Putin also expressed his “sincere gratitude for the immense contribution Abdul Kalam has made to strengthening the friendship between Russia and India”.
In a message to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Putin said that, “we have acquired great experience in mutually beneficial cooperation at various levels over the last 60 years”.
“Russia highly values its friendly relations with India, relations that have stood the test of time and have demonstrated exceptional stability and continuity”, Mr Putin said.
“At a time when a new system of international relations is being formed, Russia and India have succeeded through their joint efforts in putting in place a solid legal base and effective mechanisms to continue developing and strengthening their bilateral ties”, the President said. This has “made it possible to take the multifaceted cooperation between our two countries to the level of a strategic partnership that is in the long-term national interests of both Russia and India and in the interests of stability and security in Asia and throughout the world”.
In conclusion, Mr Putin said he was sure that major upcoming events – the Year of Russia in India (2008), and the Year of India in Russia (2009) – would further enrich the two countries’ bilateral relations.