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On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Russian co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office and Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Presidential Advisor Igor Levitin, President of the Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers Andrei Guryev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, Rosneft CEO and Chairman of the Management Board Igor Sechin, Chairman of the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, Chairman of the State Development Corporation VEB.RFand member of the BRICS Business Council Igor Shuvalov.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, friends,

I am delighted to welcome you to Russia, this time to Kazan, a magnificent historical city on the Volga.

I warmly remember your visit to Moscow and our fruitful talks back in July. We regularly speak on the telephone. I am grateful that you accepted our invitation and came to the BRICS Summit in Kazan in person.

Today we will take part in the opening ceremony of the summit. Later, there will be a dinner for the leaders, and then we will begin our work.

Here in Kazan, we are to make a number of important decisions to enhance the efficiency of efforts made by BRICS and to strengthen multilateral cooperation within the group. We value our cooperation on this track, considering that our nations were instrumental in founding BRICS.

Russian-Indian relations are characterised by a special privileged strategic partnership and continue to develop actively. Interaction between legislative bodies is strengthening, and our foreign ministers are in constant contact.

Trade is also in good shape. The next meeting of the intergovernmental commission is scheduled for November 12 in New Delhi.

Large projects are consistently developing, and we welcome your decision to open a Consulate General of India in Kazan. Expanding India’s diplomatic presence in Russia will contribute to the further development of bilateral relations.

Mr Prime Minister, we are very glad to see you and your entire representative team in Russia.

Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi (retranslated): Your Excellency,

First of all, let me thank you from all my heart for your friendship and the warm and hospitable welcome.

I am happy to have the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Kazan to take part in the BRICS summit.

India has deeply rooted historical ties with this city. Once the Consulate General of India opens here, our relations will become even stronger.

Your Excellency, this is my second visit to Russia in the last three months, which demonstrates the close coordination and strong friendship between our countries.

As you mentioned, we held a bilateral summit in July in Moscow. Our discussions helped promote our cooperation in all areas.

Your Excellency, you have successfully chaired BRICS since the beginning of the year, and I would like to congratulate you on this.

Over the past 15 years, the BRICS group has developed a special identity, and today many countries are interested in joining it. I am looking forward to our discussions within BRICS tomorrow.

Your Excellency, we maintain regular contact regarding the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As I said before, we believe that problems must be solved by peaceful means. We fully support the establishment of peace and stability as soon as possible. In all our efforts, we give priority to humanity, and we are ready to provide any possible assistance in the future.

Your Excellency, today we will have the opportunity to discuss all these issues.

I would like to thank you once again.

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