India-Russia cooperation has deepened amid ongoing geopolitical turmoil, though the two sides need to address issues like non-tariff barriers and regulatory hurdles to increase their two-way trade to $100 billion by 2030, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
The evolving multipolar order requires greater cooperation between India and Russia, including through BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the G20 and the United Nations, and New Delhi looks forward to working closely with Russia to address common challenges, Jaishankar said in a virtual speech during the conference ‘India and Russia: Towards a New Bilateral Agenda’.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who also addressed the meeting virtually, lauded India’s “independent foreign policy” that prioritizes national interest, and said the two countries have close coordination on foreign policy matters amid the ongoing geopolitical turmoil, including “the military and political crisis in the Persian Gulf sparked by the US and Israel.”
Jaishankar said that the special and distinguished strategic partnership between India and Russia is “rooted in trust and mutual respect,” and that bilateral cooperation has contributed to enhancing regional and global peace, stability and progress.
“In today’s evolving geopolitical dynamics, our engagement continues to deepen, driven by frequent high-level exchanges,” he said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit last December opened new horizons in areas such as mobility of skilled professionals, maritime cooperation, fertilizers, customs and trade.
Noting that the two sides have committed to increasing bilateral trade from $68.7 billion to $100 billion by 2030 in a “balanced and sustainable manner,” Jaishankar said this requires concluding a free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), addressing non-tariff and regulatory barriers and leveraging India’s skilled workforce. Lavrov also said that the two countries currently conduct 96% of their trade in their national currencies.
Describing Russia as India’s “first partner” in civil nuclear energy, Jaishankar said: “As India aims to increase its nuclear power generation capacity to 100 GW by 2047, I am confident that it will find a reliable and trustworthy partner in Russia for peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”
Lavrov said that India’s influence is increasing in the emerging multipolar world. “New Delhi deserves deep respect for pursuing an independent foreign policy as part of its path towards strategic independence, while consistently prioritizing the national interest,” he said. “The Russian-Indian friendship that has stood the test of time is a model of how to build relations between countries on the basis of equality, mutual trust, respect and taking into account the interests of each party.”
He also said that Russia looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a visit this year.
