Moscow | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday, lauding his "personal contribution" to strengthening the "special" partnership between India and Russia.
Prime Minister Modi was born on September 17, 1950, in a small town in Gujarat's Vadnagar.
President Putin extended birthday greetings to Modi, praising his "great authority on the global stage." "You are rightly enjoying a deep respect from your compatriots and great authority on the global stage. It is impossible to overstate your personal contribution to strengthening the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia," Putin said in a message published on the Kremlin website.
Putin, who recently visited India for the 18th BRICS Summit, also thanked Modi for the welcome extended to him during the visit. Putin visited New Delhi for three days from September 11-13.
"I would like to express my gratitude for the warm and cordial welcome and hospitality extended to me and the Russian delegation during my visit to New Delhi last week," the message read.
"The talks we held were undoubtedly substantive, frank, and productive. As always, it was a genuine pleasure to talk with you, and our discussions once again demonstrated your extraordinary political wisdom and foresight."
"We will, of course, continue our constructive cooperation on pressing bilateral and international issues for the benefit of our friendly nations." On Friday, Prime Minister Modi held wide-ranging talks with Putin, focusing on enhancing annual bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030 and ramping up existing cooperation in areas such as defence, energy, critical minerals, and fertiliser supplies.
The meeting took place hours after Putin landed in New Delhi on a three-day visit to participate in the high-stakes BRICS summit.
