Interacting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last evening, Mukherjee said India welcomes Russian participation in India's defence sector in joint production, research and development and offsets, a release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
"Defence cooperation is an important pillar of the strategic partnership between India and Russia. Russia will remain a trusted and indispensable partner for India's defence needs," Mukherjee told Putin when the later called on him here.
Mukherjee told Putin that India considers him as a great friend and the guiding force behind the strategic partnership between the two countries.
"India is fully committed to developing and deepening the India-Russia partnership in diverse areas," he said.
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Mukherjee said he was happy that during Putin's present visit, the two countries have outlined a joint document laying out the vision for enhancing the strategic partnership to a qualitatively new level in the coming years, the release said.
"India is also grateful for Russia's support for India's membership of multilateral export control regimes," he said.
The Russian President told Mukherjee that his visit has been successful and meaningful and bilateral relations between the two countries are developing well.
Putin agreed with the President that the two countries can do much better on trade and said Russia would be happy to enhance cooperation in various fields, including energy and defence.