Moscow, Sept. 13: Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promotion of the "Make in India" programme. He highlighted the importance of using domestically made product and commended India's policies under PM Modi's leadership as a positive example.

In an address at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Putin said, "You know, we did not have domestically made cars then, but we do now. It is true that they look more modest than Mercedes or Audi cars, which we bought in vast amounts in the 1990s, but this is not an issue. I think that we should emulate many of our partners, for example, India. They are focused on the manufacture and use of Indian-made vehicles. I think that Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme. He is right."

He said it is absolutely fine to use Russian-made automobiles.

"We have [Russian-made] automobiles, and we must use them; this is absolutely fine. This will not lead to any infringements of our WTO obligations, absolutely not. It will concern state purchases. We must create a certain chain regarding what cars different classes of officials can drive, so that they will use domestically-made cars," Putin said in Vladivostok, according to a transcript of the plenary session posted on Kremlin's website.

"You probably know about the proposals to continue buying these cars. It would be easy to do, because the logistics are streamlined," he added.

The Russian president also said India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) will no way affect Russia infact it will benefit the country

His remarks came after India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

Speaking at the forum, Putin said, "I believe that this will only benefit us. I believe that this will only help us develop logistics. Firstly, this project has been discussed for a long time, for several years."-Agencies