Speaking at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” policy and said that Modi was “doing just the right thing” by encouraging Indians to use products made in India and promoting the program.
In response to a question on autos created in Russia, Putin stated that locally produced vehicles should be utilized and that nations like India have already done so via their programs under Prime Minister Modi.
Speaking to the gathering, Putin said, “You know, back then [in the 1990s], we didn’t have locally produced automobiles, but we have today. Although they do have a more understated appearance than the Mercedes or Audi vehicles we purchased in large quantities in the 1990s, this is immaterial. I believe we can learn a lot from many of our allies, including India. They are primarily concentrating on the manufacture and utilization of Indian-made automobiles and ships. And in this sense, Prime Minister Modi is acting morally by promoting the usage of the Made in India label. We should utilize the cars that are accessible to us as well.
He continued by saying it was quite OK to drive Russian-made cars.
The transcript of the plenary session quotes Putin as saying, “This will not result in any violations of our WTO duties, not at all. It will deal with government acquisitions. To encourage officials to drive domestically produced vehicles, we need to establish rules on the kind of vehicles that they may drive.
He continued by saying that since “logistics are streamlined,” it would be simpler to purchase automobiles built in Russia.
Putin said that nothing about the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was unveiled alongside the G20 conference in New Delhi, could harm Russia and that he solely considered the initiative as being advantageous to his nation.
Unexpectedly, the Americans did board this train. I don’t, however, see any benefit to their being involved in this initiative. only possibly from the perspective of commercial interest. In the meanwhile, the increased flow of products along this route really adds to our North-South initiative. We don’t have anything here, but we can see anything that may be a hindrance.
Putin reportedly said that by agreeing with the European Union, Saudi Arabia, and India, the United States stepped into the “last car,” according to the Russian news agency TASS. He said that the project has been discussed over the last several years and that IMEC will assist Russia in strengthening logistics.
