VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 04 (AFP): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would boost ties with Moscow as he met President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin's showcase economic forum in the Russian Far East on Wednesday.
Russia has hosted the three-day forum in its Pacific coast city of Vladivostok since 2015 to boost partnerships with Asian countries amid tensions with the West.
"This is a historic opportunity to give a new impetus to cooperation between our countries," Modi said at the start of talks, after the men toured a naval shipyard.
"Today we are going to sign a declaration… expressing our desire to further increase cooperation," Putin said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also to visit Vladivostok, along with Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga and Malyasian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
But Putin was spending most of his time on Wednesday with Modi, who highlighted his ties with the Russian leader in an interview ahead of the forum.
"Our relationship has special chemistry, special ease," Modi told newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
"With each meeting with president Putin, we get closer and our relationship grows."
Modi pointed out that mutual ties also extend to nature, as every year "Siberian cranes migrate to my home state Gujarat". The Indian leader said he also planned to discuss tiger conservation with Putin, a lover of big cats.
After shaking hands warmly on Modi's arrival, the two men boarded a Russian navy patrol ship and headed to the Zvezda shipyard about 40 kilometres (25 miles) across a bay from Vladivostok. India is a key client for Russia's arms industry and Moscow will be looking to make progress on new deals during the talks.
A TASS report adds: The Far East Development Fund expects to conclude 15 agreements totaling about 46 billion rubles ($688.88 million), projects totaling 450 bln rubles ($6.74 bln), the fund's CEO Alexey Chekunkov said in an interview with Russia-24 TV channel on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).
"At the fifth anniversary EEF, we are signing 15 agreements totaling almost 46 billion rubles, projects totaling 450 billion rubles," Chekunkov said. According to him, the largest agreements will include financing projects of the Nakhodka Mineral Fertilizer Plant and the development of the Malmyzh copper deposit.
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