MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. New Delhi actively cooperates with Moscow at the regional and global levels considering Russia to be a vital force on the international arena, India’s Ambassador to Russia Pankaj Saran said in the interview with TASS on Monday.

The bilateral relations today can be regarded as the example of special privileged strategic partnership, he said. "The Russian-Indian cooperation concerns almost all the spheres, including energy, defense, culture, science and technologies," the diplomat explained.

"Besides, the active cooperation of Moscow and New Delhi at the regional and global levels should be noted. I’m sure that your country as a vital force on the global arena," the ambassador said.

"India cooperates with Russia in the United Nations, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), G20, the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral format and many other international platforms," Saran reminded. "Our countries have excellent understanding of each other in global political issues and the views on most of them coincide," he said.

The ambassador stressed that the major facility of India’s energy system, the Kudankulam NPP being built with the support of the Russian side, is a symbol of friendship between the two countries. "This project reflects joint practical steps of Russia and India, having become a milestone event in the history of our bilateral relations," he said.

Leaders' meeting at G20 summit

The diplomat has also signaled the potential for a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China.

"During a video bridge dedicated to the transfer of the first power unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to the Indian people, the prime minister expressed his desire to hold a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin in China within the G20," the ambassador told TASS. "Our leaders last met in June in Tashkent where the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit was underway." "That’s why I hope they will have another opportunity to meet in Hangzhou," he noted.

Ambassador Saran pointed out though that "it is too early yet to talk about the issues set to be discussed by Modi and Putin during their meeting." "However, I am confident that key regional and bilateral issues will top the agenda," he stressed.

The G20 summit, set to take place in Hangzhou, in China’s Zhejiang Province, is scheduled for September 4-5.