India-Russia Trade Targets $100 Billion by 2030
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov co-chaired the 25th Session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in New Delhi today.
Discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in various areas, including trade, economic ties, energy, and connectivity.
Over the past 5 years, the volume of mutual trade between the two countries has grown more than 5 times, and by 9% in the first 8 months of this year. The tasks of further expanding the range of goods and reducing the trade imbalance will be enshrined in the economic cooperation development programme till 2030.
Jaishankar highlighted the impressive growth in bilateral trade, which has reached $66 billion, and emphasized the need for a more balanced trade relationship. He also stressed the importance of making trade easier between the two nations, particularly through progress in negotiations on the India-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement.
The First Deputy Prime Minister confirmed the intention to conclude a free trade agreement between the EAEU and India, as well as a bilateral agreement on services and investments. He drew attention to the importance of expanding cooperation between Russian and Indian banks. Today, the share of settlements in national and alternative currencies reaches almost 90%.
“It is equally important to coordinate efforts in the transport sector. We are interested in expanding direct air traffic between our countries. We expect to increase the frequency of flights, develop the route network, and resume flights of Indian air carriers,” noted Denis Manturov.
PM Modi welcomed the sustained efforts made by both teams to implement decisions taken during his recent visits and meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
