Zuma with Putin in Xiamen, China on 4 September 2017 [PPIO]Russian President Vladimir Putin held bilateral talks with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday in the Chinese city of Xiamen.
The three leaders are in China to attend the 9th BRICS Summit.
In his meeting with Modi, Putin praised the Indo-Russian friendship.
“Relations between Russia and India have deep historical roots… I have to say that the results, including those of our joint work, are certainly positive… we are actively promoting military-technical cooperation,” Putin said.
“In the first six months of this year, we observe considerable growth – almost 22 percent, 21.9 percent. It goes without saying that we should preserve this positive trend,” Putin told Modi.
In recent years, Indian state companies have signed energy deals worth billions of dollars with Russia’s Rosneft.
Russian oil major Rosneft and partners closed their $12.9 billion purchase of Indian refiner Essar Oil last month. Russian and Indian economic ties stretch back to the Soviet era.
Indian Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Putin shake hands before a bilateral meet in Xiamen, China on 4 September 2017 [PPIO]On Monday, Putin and South African President Zuma also took stock of trade ties, especially “the downward trend in bilateral trade”.
“We signed today an agreement on joint work on information security and we cooperate in a consolidated fashion in international organisations,” Putin said in his meet with Zuma.
South Africa takes over the leadership of BRICS from China next year.
TBP
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