OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2009. Welcoming the head of India’s External Affairs Ministry, Mr Medvedev said that the two countries maintain an intensive, multifaceted and systemic political dialogue and that the regular contacts at various levels are the guarantee that Russia and India will continue to develop their cooperation.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Mr Minister, colleagues,

It is a great pleasure for me to meet with you, especially in view of the dynamic, systemic, multifaceted political dialogue that exists between the Russian Federation and India. Clearly, your visit is very important within the context of our dialogue, particularly in preparing for Prime Minister Singh’s official visit to the Russian Federation, which will take place in December of this year.

We meet regularly and have talks in a variety of circumstances. This assures the continued development of our multifaceted and very productive relations, which are based on the similarity of our positions, on partnership, and on mutual support. Furthermore, we are naturally discussing a variety of issues, ranging from bilateral economic cooperation, which is currently very important to the Russian Federation and, I hope, India as well, to matters on the international agenda, regional problems, and our joint efforts to counter modern threats, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, and organised crime. We are also discussing other issues, including our joint cooperation to overcome the effects of the global financial crisis. And so, I welcome you. I hope that the discussions you had so far today have already been fruitful and that you will tell us about the results that you reached.

INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTER S. M. KRISHNA (as translated): Thank you, Your Excellency. It is a great honour for me to have this opportunity to meet with you. This is my first visit to Russia. India will never forget the support offered by your country when we set on a path to achieve sustainable economic growth after our nation gained independence. Just recently, the President of our nation, Mr Pratibha Patil, visited Russia and we would like to say, on behalf of the Indian side and all our political parties, that we are interested in establishing close political and economic ties with the Russian Federation. All of us conform to this approach.

Our ties with Russia will always be a priority in our foreign policy, and an essential element of our cooperation. We see Russia as a world power that plays a special role in ensuring peace and security in our region and throughout the world.