Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government for creating "stable conditions" for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and offered to place Russian manufacturing sites in India.
Speaking at the 15th VTB Investment Forum in Moscow on Wednesday, President Putin stated that the rise of new Russian brands replacing Western brands have exited the market.
He noted the success of local Russian manufacturers in sectors such as consumer goods, IT, high-tech, and agriculture.
"For us, it has special relevance as part of the import substitution programme, we see the advent of many new Russian brands substituting the brand by Western partners who have voluntarily left our market. And our local manufacturers have been quite successful not only in consumer goods but also in IT, high tech and agriculture," he said.
"In agriculture, the number of our manufacturers and producers keeps growing. In 1988, the Soviet Union imported grains for USD 35 billion, and last year, we exported grains to the tune of USD 66 billion, and to a large extent that is to our farmers and producers. And in all these sectors of the Russian Federation, including high-tech ones, there is an acute need to expand the opportunities to sell and export products," Putin said.
Russian President also mentioned that Russia's import substitution programme is similar to India's "Make in India" initiative and noted that India's leadership focused on a policy of prioritising its interests. He also offered to place Russian manufacturing sites in India.
"And we would be ready to place our manufacturing site in India. Also, the biggest investment in India in the economy to the tune of USD 20 billion by Rosneft, biggest oil producer company in the Russian Federation happened not long ago," he added.
"The Prime Minister of India and the Government of India have been creating stable conditions and this is because the Indian leadership has been pursuing India comes first policy and we believe that investments in India are profitable," the Russian President said.
Urging for greater cooperation among BRICS nations to support the growth of SMEs, Putin said "I would ask colleagues responsible for the BRICS corporation to analyse the situation on the main areas of cooperation, and we will definitely draw the attention of Brazilian colleagues who will chair BRICS next year," he added.
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