New Delhi, Feb. 13: Visiting Russian Prime Minister, Victor Zubkov, formally launched the Russian Information Centre in India on Wednesday.

Addressing the gathering at the event, Zubkov said that the launch of the Centre and it coinciding with the Year of Russia in India, would boost bilateral ties between the two countries further.

"At the negotiations yesterday (with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and other high Indian officials), we have noted repeatedly that our two societies are not getting enough information on each other’s life, and the present customary mode of getting news from each other does not correspond with the rhytm of rapid development of our two nations. One should not ignore the acute interest of our two nations towards each other," he said.

"We are sure that the RIC will satisfy the requirements of the people of both countries to the full," he added.

"We expect that the RIC will become an important symbol of Russia’s informational presence in India and, with the passing of time, will acquire a firm status of the main venue of communication of our two nations, be it representatives of the world of business, culture or science of the two countries. This is the role that we allocate to the Russian Information Centre. We believe that our expectations will come true," Zubkov said. (ANI)

The Russian Information Centre is a discussion club and its main role is to present to the Indian public various personalities, attending numerous events of the Russian Year.

The RIC does not represent the official position of the Russian Government, unless the speakers choose to do so, and is headed by Dmitri Kosyrev, a political columnist with the RIA Novosti news agency. (ANI)