Putin hopes Russia and India would continue to work towards stepping up cooperation in 2021

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday expressed hope that next year Russia and India would continue to work towards stepping up constructive bilateral cooperation as well as coordinating efforts to address topical issues on the regional and global agendas

In his Christmas and New Year's greetings to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin said Russia and India were connected by relations of privileged strategic partnership, which, despite this year's difficulties and problems, including the coronavirus pandemic, are developing confidently. President Putin stressed that the two countries maintain a substantive political dialogue and carry out promising joint projects in various spheres, while cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS yields good results, said a statement issued by the Kremlin

He ''expressed hope that next year Russia and India would continue to work towards stepping up constructive bilateral cooperation as well as coordinating efforts to address topical issues on the regional and global agendas,'' it added.