Moscow, 9 July

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a wholehearted endorsement of India's ties with Russia, describing the old ally as India's "all-weather friend" and lauding President Vladimir Putin for strengthening the bilateral relations over the past two decades of his leadership.

Addressing the Indian diaspora, he said the India-Russia relationship is built on the strong pillar of mutual trust and respect, asserting that their ties were tested time and again only to emerge stronger every time. Modi's high praise of Russia as an ally and Putin's leadership came amid ongoing efforts by the Western world to isolate the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Modi also made a veiled criticism of the "influence-oriented global order" which endured for decades. "But, what the world needs right now is confluence not influence and no one can deliver this message better than India which has a strong tradition of worshipping confluences,” he said.

He said India is being seen as a strong pillar in the "emerging multipolar world order". "When it speaks of peace, dialogue and diplomacy, then the whole world listens." Modi has often stressed the need for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Commenting on India's ties with Russia, he said he has been for decades an admirer of the unique partnership between the two countries. "On hearing the word Russia, the first word that comes to the mind of every Indian is India's 'sukh-dukh ka saathi' (all-weather friend) and a trusted ally,” he said.

“No matter how low the temperature dips below zero degrees during Russian winter, India-Russia friendship has always remained in 'plus' and been full of warmth. This relationship is built on the strong foundation of mutual trust and mutual respect,” Modi said.

He said he had a special appreciation for "his friend" Putin for steering the India-Russia friendship to greater heights over the last two decades.

As prime minister, he said it was his sixth visit to Russia and the two leaders have met 17 times during this period. "All these meetings have added to our mutual trust and respect," he said, praising Putin for helping the evacuation of Indian students during the war. He expressed gratitude to the Russian leader and Russian citizens for this.

To the applause from the audience, he announced that India will open two new consulates in Russia to boost travel and trade between the two countries.

Recalling the celebrated Hindi song 'Sar pe lal topi Rusi, phir bhi dil hai Hindustani' picturised on Raj Kapoor, he said it may be an old number but its sentiments remain evergreen. He also mentioned Mithun Chakraborty, another Indian actor who earned a big following in Russia, as he spoke about the deep cultural ties between the two countries.

Modi said India was undergoing a transformation and the pace of development over the past 10 years has taken the world by surprise. Even the world now acknowledges what he used to say during his poll campaign that the 21st century belongs to India, he added. The fast pace of India's development will write a "new chapter" in the world's progress, he said.

He said India was changing as it believes in the strength of its 140 crore citizens who are now dreaming of turning their resolve of ‘Viksit Bharat’ into reality. “Today's India is brimming with self-confidence, unlike the situation before 2014 when the country was sunk in despair, and this is our biggest capital,” Modi said.

In this context, he mentioned India's win in the T20 World Cup and added that India's teams in different sports were giving a historic performance. "The youth India of today does not concede defeat till the last ball and the last moment," he said, adding that the country is sending a strong team for the Paris Olympics and its athletes will show their mettle. “When people like you bless us, even the biggest goals can be achieved. You all know that today's India achieves whatever goal it sets its mind to,” he said.

He said it was in his DNA to challenge all the challenges and India will write a new chapter of global growth in coming years. Modi said it was exactly a month ago that he took oath as prime minister for the third consecutive term when he had made the resolve to work at thrice the strength and speed to fulfil the aspirations of the country.