India stands for peace from the beginning when it comes to Ukraine, prime minister Narendra Modi said here Friday, as he welcomed Russian president Vladimir Putin. "We welcome all efforts being made for a peaceful and sustainable resolution of this subject. India has always been ready to contribute and will continue to contribute [towards peace]," he said in his press statement during the joint press statement with the president of Russia.

"India and Russia have been working shoulder-to-shoulder for a long time in the fight against terrorism. Be it the terrorist attack in Pahalgam or the cowardly trauma inflicted on the Crocus City Hall — the root of all these incidents is the same. India has a firm belief that terrorism is a direct attack on the values of humanity and global unity against it is our greatest strength," th PM said.

India and Russia have had close cooperation at the UN, G20, BRICS, SCO and other forums, he said, adding that, "Moving forward with close coordination, the two will continue our dialogue and cooperation on all these forums."

Welcoming President Putin to the 23rd Summit of India and Russia, Modi said, Putin's "visit comes at a time when our bilateral relations are going through a period of many historic milestones. Exactly 25 years ago, President Putin laid the foundation of our Strategic Partnership. Fifteen years ago, in 2010, our partnership got the status of 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership'."

"For the last two and a half decades, Putin has continuously nurtured these relations with his leadership and vision. In every situation, his leadership has given a new height to the relationship. I express my heartfelt gratitude to President Putin, my friend, for this deep friendship and unwavering commitment to India," Modi said in his remarks in Hindi.

There have been many ups and downs in the world in the last eight decades, he noted. Humanity has gone through many challenges and challenges. "And in the midst of all this, India-Russia friendship has remained like the pole star. This relationship, based on mutual respect and deep faith, has always passed every test of time. Today we discussed all aspects of cooperation to further strengthen this foundation. Taking economic cooperation to new heights is our common priority. To achieve this, today we have agreed to an economic cooperation program for 2030. This will make our business and investment, balanced, and sustainable, and will also add new dimensions to the areas of cooperation."

He expressed his confidence that the India-Russia Business Forum later Friday "will give new strength to our business relationship. This will also open new doors of export, co-production and co-innovation".

Both sides are making efforts for the early conclusion of the FTA with the Eurasian Economic Union. "Our close cooperation in the field of agriculture and fertilizers is important for food security and farmer welfare. I am happy that taking this forward, now both sides are making efforts to produce urea together."

He sad increasing connectivity between the two countries is their main priority. "We will move forward with new energy on INSTC, Northern Sea Route, Chennai - Vladivostok Corridors. We are happy that now we will cooperate for training in the polar waters of India. It will not only give new strength to our cooperation in the Arctic, but also create new employment opportunities for the youth of India."

Energy security has been a strong and important pillar of India-Russia partnership. "Our decades-old collaboration in the field of Civil Nuclear Energy has been important in making our shared priorities of clean energy meaningful. We will continue to support this win-win cooperation."

The bilateral cooperation in Critical Minerals is important to ensure secure and supply chains diversified across the world, Modi said. This will give concrete support to the partnership in clean energy, high-tech manufacturing and new age industries.