India, Russia Review Trade Relations; Reaffirm USD 100 Bn Target By 2030

New Delhi, Nov 14 (KNN) Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal met Vladimir Ilyichev, Russia’s Deputy Economic Development Minister for the 26th Meeting of the India Russia Working Group on Trade & Economic Cooperation. 

Both sides reviewed the steady rise in bilateral trade and outlined priorities for deeper economic engagement.

Bilateral trade has now grown to well over twice the 2014 benchmark of USD 25 billion, with both countries reaffirming their shared target of USD 100 billion by 2030. 

A protocol on trade and economic cooperation, covering multiple sectors, was finalised and signed during the meeting.

India took note of Russia’s interest in concluding a bilateral investment treaty, and both sides agreed to explore payment solutions to facilitate smoother transactions, particularly for MSMEs.

Agrawal emphasised the need to expand market access and proposed confidence-building measures aimed at removing barriers in key sectors. 

India sought expedited listing of Indian establishments and a systems-based approach with FSVPS in agriculture especially for marine products as well as a time-bound, predictable regulatory pathway for pharmaceuticals, including registration and regulatory reliance.

The Working Group identified opportunities for cooperation across engineering goods, chemicals, plastics, electronics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, leather, and textiles. 

India highlighted sectoral strengths in smartphones, motor vehicles, gems and jewellery, organic chemicals, textiles, and leather, areas that could support Russia’s efforts toward trade diversification and de-risking.

In the services sector, India encouraged Russian entities to increase procurement of IT-BPM, healthcare, education, and creative services, and sought predictable mobility for Indian professionals in response to Russia’s labour shortages. 

India presented its Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem housing 1,700 centres and employing 1.9 million professionals as a robust platform for Russian companies seeking to enhance business continuity, cybersecurity, analytics, and design capabilities.

(KNN Bureau)