India and Russia have agreed to increase cooperation in various sectors, including nuclear power and shipbuilding. They also discussed ways to solve payment problems as their leaders met in Moscow on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow for a 2-day visit beginning on July 8, 2024, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
Programme-2030 and bilateral payment system
To deepen trade and economic cooperation, the leaders instructed concerned agencies to prepare a programme for the development of promising areas of Russian-Indian economic cooperation till 2030 (Programme-2030).
This programme aims to ensure the dynamic growth of trade in goods and services between the two countries. The IRIGC-TEC will oversee its implementation, with working groups and concerned agencies monitoring and supporting the programme.
Both sides agreed to continue working on promoting a bilateral settlement system using national currencies. They will also consult on the interoperability of their financial messaging systems.
“The Sides agreed to continue working together to promote bilateral settlement system using national currencies. The Sides agreed to continue consultations for interoperability of their financial messaging systems,” said the release.
Trade and economic partnership
Both leaders noted the impressive growth of bilateral trade in 2023, which has nearly doubled the target of USD 30 billion set for 2025. T
“To achieve balanced and sustainable bilateral trade in long term, the Leaders stressed the need to increase Indian exports to Russia through strengthening industrial cooperation, forging new technological and investment partnerships, especially in advanced high-technology areas and finding new avenues and forms of cooperation,” said a press release.
To further boost and sustain the growth in bilateral trade, the leaders set a new trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030.
They also welcomed the 24th Session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) and the India-Russia Business Forum held in New Delhi in April 2023. The meetings of various working groups were appreciated for their role in expanding and diversifying economic relations. The next IRIGC-TEC session will be held in the second half of 2024 in Russia.
Free trade agreement and industrial cooperation
To remove non-tariff and tariff barriers in trade, including protective measures and administrative barriers, the leaders appreciated the initial meeting in March 2024 to start full negotiations for a ‘Free Trade Agreement’ on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union.
They also directed officials to explore the possibility of negotiations for a bilateral free-trade agreement in services and investments.
Recognising the importance of industrial cooperation, both sides confirmed their mutual desire to strengthen manufacturing cooperation in transport engineering, metallurgy, the chemical industry, and other sectors of mutual interest.
They expressed their intention to create favourable conditions for joint projects in priority areas and expand reciprocal trade flows of industrial products.
The leaders reaffirmed that the agreement between the Federal Customs Service of Russia and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of India, signed in May 2024, will boost trade volume and ensure the security of supply chains.
Migration, fertilisers, and investments
Both sides agreed to continue discussions on the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement. They also agreed to cooperate on the sustainable supply of fertilisers to India through long-term contracts within the framework of the Joint India-Russia Committee on Fertilizers.
The first-ever India-Russia Investment Forum and the 7th meeting of the Working Group on Priority Investment Projects were held in April 2024 in Moscow.
Both sides agreed to facilitate Russian businesses’ participation in India’s “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” programmes and Indian companies’ involvement in investment projects in Russia. India invited Russian businesses to set up manufacturing facilities in greenfield industrial cities under the Industrial Corridor program of the Government of India.
Communication technologies
Both sides confirmed their interest in expanding cooperation in communication technologies, including telecommunications, satellite communications, digitalisation of public administration and the urban environment, mobile communications, and information security.
Energy partnership
The leaders reiterated the importance of cooperation in the energy sector as a significant pillar of their strategic partnership.
They agreed to explore new long-term contracts in the energy sector and appreciated ongoing cooperation in the coal sector. They also agreed to explore possibilities for increasing the supply of coking coal to India and exporting anthracite coal from Russia to India.
