Russia, India agree to increase trade to $100bn

Russia and India have agreed to significantly boost their trade ties despite West’s growing pressure on Moscow because of the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed in a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday to work to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030 from about $65 billion at present.

During the meeting, Putin and Modi focused on how exactly to strengthen partnership between Russia and India, including by introducing a government-to-government route that enables India to build partnerships with Rosneft and other major energy companies in Russia.

India has been the top buyer of Russian seaborne oil since 2022 when the United States and allies imposed sanctions on Moscow because of the war in Ukraine.

However, New Delhi is seeking to further expand its energy purchases from Russia to meet its growing demand while trying to boost its exports to Russia to fix its trade balance.

Russia and India issued a joint statement after the meeting between Putin and Modi which outlined nine key areas of cooperation to meet the $100-billion trade target between the two countries.

The statement said India wants to enter a free trade arrangement with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, a bloc which has already expanded beyond its regional borders by granting a similar privilege to Iran.

Putin and Modi also agreed to use national currencies to settle payments as part of a bilateral system that eliminates the need for hard currencies like the US dollar and helps Russia avoid West’s sanctions.

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