Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ policy while speaking at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia’s port town of Vladivostok. He noted that Russia should “learn from India” and that PM Modi was “doing just the right thing” by encouraging Indians to use products made in India and promoting the programme.
He stated, “You know, we did not have domestically made cars then (in the 1990s) 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 learn from many of our partners, for example, India,” to a query regarding Russian-manufactured cars.
He mentioned that domestically manufactured automobiles should be used and countries like India have already set examples through their policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “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.”
The Russian President voiced, “We have (Russian-made) automobiles, and we must use them, this is absolutely fine. This will not lead to any infringements of our World Trade Organization (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. You probably know about the proposals to continue buying these cars. It would be easy to do because the logistics are streamlined.”
He also spoke on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and observed that there was nothing in the major project which was announced on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi that could hinder Russia and he only saw it benefiting the country. He also pointed out that he doesn’t understand the association of the USA with it.
The former KGB official proclaimed, “First, this project has been discussed for a long time, maybe for the past several years. Truth be told, the Americans joined it at the last minute. But I do not really see why they would want to be part of it, except maybe in terms of some business interest. In the meantime, the additional traffic of goods along this corridor will be in fact an addition to our North–South project. We do not see anything here that could harm us in any way.”
He observed, “The North–South corridor goes to the Persian Gulf and then to India. If there is another route, I believe it includes Israel, we will be able to reach the Mediterranean through the Black Sea and use this corridor. I do not know, the colleagues who presented this project need to consider it carefully. This is only a memorandum of intent so far.”
He conveyed that the economy of the project should be “thoroughly calculated” and asserted, “Cargo shipment volumes are growing every year, and I think that the more such routes the better.”
President Putin and Make in India
Notably, this isn’t the first time President Vladimir Putin has praised the Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. He emphasised the importance of providing support tools for Russian companies to market their products much more effectively by articulating their mission, the value of the good and a sense of positive emotion and pride among Russians regarding the products made in Russia while addressing the audience at an event organised by Russia’s Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) in June.
He used Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an example and stressed how the impact of his ‘Make In India’ plan which was introduced a number of years ago, on the Indian economy has been significant. He highlighted, “Our friends in India and our great friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative several years ago. It has had a truly impressive effect on the Indian economy. It would do no harm to emulate what is working well, even if it was not us but our friends who created it.”
“A lot has been done under the leadership of PM Modi. He is a patriot of his country. His idea of ‘Make in India’ matters both economically and in ethics. Future belongs to India, it can also be proud of the fact that it’s the largest democracy in the world,” he remarked in his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank in October 2022.
He complimented India’s independent foreign policy and commented that India’s transformation from a British colony to a modern state was “tremendous.” He added that the country’s 1.5 billion people and visible development results deserve everyone’s respect and admiration.