Before the meeting began, Mr Putin visited an exhibition of goods produced by Indian companies present on the Russian market.
Addressing the business leaders, Mr Putin called on them to play an active part in joint economic projects. The President noted the importance of joint energy projects and said that Russia is also interested in working together in the oil and coal industries and in civil aviation.
Asked whether the Russian Government will take part in big projects to privatise metals industry facilities in India, Mr Putin said that Russia will most likely not participate directly in these projects, but does have plans to modernise the facilities built earlier in India with Soviet assistance.
The President also said that Russia plans to expand its cooperation with foreign countries in the finance and insurance sector, and spoke in support of developing the contacts between business circles in Russia and India.