Doing right thing in promoting Make in India: Putin praises PM's policies

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies in the Russian port town of Vladivostok on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that PM Modi is just doing the "right thing" in promoting the Make in India programme.

He made the remarks while speaking at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in response to a media query on Russian-made cars.

Putin said that domestically made automobiles must be used and India has already set examples through its policies under the leadership of PM Modi.

In an address at the forum, Putin said, "You know, we did not have domestically made cars then, but we do now. It is true that they look more modest than Mercedes or Audi cars, which we bought in vast amounts in the 1990s, but this is not an issue. I think that we should emulate many of our partners, for example, India. They are focused on the manufacture and use of Indian-made vehicles. I think that Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme. He is right."

He said it is absolutely fine to use Russian-made automobiles.

"We have [Russian-made] automobiles, and we must use them; this is absolutely fine. This will not lead to any infringements of our WTO obligations, absolutely not. It will concern state purchases. We must create a certain chain regarding what cars different classes of officials can drive, so that they will use domestically-made cars," Putin said in Vladivostok, according to a transcript of the plenary session posted on Kremlin's website.

"You probably know about the proposals to continue buying these cars. It would be easy to do, because the logistics are streamlined," he added.

Not only this, but the Russian President also talked at length how he sees nothing in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) that can hinder Russia and that the project according to him benefits Russia.

The United States jumped into the "last car" by agreeing with the European Union, Saudi Arabia and India on the creation of a new economic corridor but the project itself is for the benefit of Russia, Putin said while speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) as cited by the Russian news agency TASS.

The Russian President said that the IMEC would help his country develop logistics and added that the project had been under discussion for several years.

His remarks came after India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

Speaking at the forum, Putin said, "I believe that this will only benefit us. I believe that this will only help us develop logistics. Firstly, this project has been discussed for a long time, for several years."

"True, the Americans jumped on this train at the last moment. But for them, I don't see much point in being in this project. Only, perhaps, from the point of view of business interest. Meanwhile, the additional movement of goods along this corridor is, in fact, an addition to our North-South project. We have nothing here we see something that could somehow hinder us," he added.

India, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the European Union on Saturday (September 9), announced a historic agreement to soon launch a mega India-Middle East-Europe shipping and railway connectivity corridor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement for the ambitious project on the sidelines of the G20 Summit which took place in New Delhi under India's presidency.

This is a first-of-its-kind initiative on cooperation on connectivity and infrastructure involving India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, EU, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

Speaking after the launch, PM Modi said, "I cordially welcome you all at this event. I am very happy to co-chair this event with my friend President Joe Biden. Today we all have seen the conclusion of a historic and important agreement. In the coming days, it will be an effective medium of economic integration between India, South Asia, and Europe".