Moscow, 8 Nov

India deserves to be included in the list of global superpowers as its economy is currently growing faster than in any other country, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Addressing the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday, Putin also said Russia is developing relations with India in all directions and there is a great degree of trust in bilateral ties.

"India should undoubtedly added to the list of superpowers, with its billion-and-a-half population, the fastest growth among all economies in the world, ancient culture and very good prospects for further growth," he said.

Calling India a great country, Putin said: "We are developing relations with India in all directions. India is a great country, now the largest in terms of population: 1.5 billion people, plus 10 million every year. "

He said India is leading the world in economic growth. "Our vision of where and at what pace our relations will develop is based on today's realities. The volume of our cooperation is increasing many times over, every year," Putin was quoted by Russian news agency Tass as saying.

Putin added that the contacts between India and Russia in the security and defence sphere are developing. "Look at how many types of Russian military equipment are in service with the Indian armed forces. There is a great degree of trust in this relationship. We don’t just sell our weapons to India; we design them jointly," he said.

Putin named the BrahMos cruise missile project as an example. "In fact, we made it [the missile] fit for use in three environments - in air, in sea and on land. These projects, conducted for the benefit of India’s security, are ongoing," he said.

"This is widely known and no one has issues with that, but these projects demonstrate a high level of mutual trust and cooperation. So this what we will keep doing in the near term, and, I hope, will continue to do in the more distant future," he said.

Putin acknowledged certain difficulties on the border between India and China, the agency reported.

However, he said wise and competent people who keep the future of their nations in mind, are searching for compromises and will eventually find them. "If this approach continues to gain momentum, compromises can be found, and they will be found," Putin said.

The ties between India and China nosedived following a fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

On 21 October, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in New Delhi that an agreement had been finalised between India and China following negotiations over the past several weeks and that it would lead to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020.

The agreement was firmed up on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, a breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.