- Thursday, November 14, 2024
Jaishankar said India has noted Russia’s growing interest in the Make in India programme and it would encourage joint ventures between the two sides
By: Shajil Kumar
INDIA is confident of achieving $100 billion in annual bilateral trade with Russia well ahead of the timeline of 2030, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the 25th India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) in New Delhi.
The Russian delegation was led by First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
In his opening remarks Jaishankar said the trade between the two countries needs to be “more balanced and that would require addressing current constraints and undertaking greater facilitative efforts.”
“As two major nations in an increasingly multipolar world, a more substantive relationship between us has a larger resonance,” he said.
The external affairs minister said New Delhi welcomes and fully reciprocates Moscow’s growing interest in exploring economic opportunities in India.
“Our economies are not only complementary in many respects but benefit from the trust and confidence built over many years. The growth in bilateral trade is now estimated at $66 billion and it is impressive,” he said.
Jaishankar said India has noted Russia’s growing interest in the Make in India programme and it would encourage joint ventures and other forms of collaboration between the two sides.
“I am confident that we will achieve the trade target of $100 billion by 2030, well before that,” he said.
Jaishankar also touched upon Russia’s supply of fertilizers, crude oil and coal to India.
“Russia has emerged as a major source of fertilizers for us. Its supply of crude oil, coal and uranium are indeed important. Similarly, India’s pharmaceutical industry has emerged as an affordable and reliable source for Russia.”
“Looking ahead we are also exploring the mobility of talent, skills, customising them for the Russian market has to be a shared enterprise,” he said.
In his remarks, Manturov also delved into fast-evolving trade ties between India and Russia.
“Over the last five years, the trade turnover of our country has grown more than fivefold. And India is now the second country among all the foreign economic partners of Russia,” he said.
“Among other things, we confirm our strong commitment on signing the free trade agreement between the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union) and India, as well as the bilateral agreement on services and investments. This fully meets the needs of our business community,” he said. (PTI)
