Indian authorities see the Arctic as another opportunity to cooperate with Russia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"We are opening new areas of cooperation in energy, telecommunications, science and technology, he said. Hi-tech investment promotion funds have been established, he added. We see the Arctic as another way we can cooperate with Russia, he noted. We would like to expand the cooperation between India's states and Russia's regions, especially, the Russian Far East," Modi said.

Work is now underway to expand trade between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, Modi said. "We are studying promising cooperation possibilities, including railways, innovation technology, information technology, diamond trade and infrastructure," he noted. "Efforts are being made to expand joint production and to transfer technologies from Russia to India."

Modi recalled that it was the Soviet Union that helped India establish industrial potential. Every Indian will remember the steel mills in Bhilai and Bokaro, the Bhakra-Nangal hydropower plant, as well as photos taken from the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft by Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian in space, Modi said.

"The significance of our relations goes beyond the bilateral format; this is natural, and it has always been the case; our partnership contributes to the cause of global peace and security," Modi noted.