Tea Board of India, Moscow

India and Russia have shared a long-standing relationship, with bilateral trade and investment ties dating back to the Soviet era. Over the years, the two nations have strengthened their economic cooperation, with bilateral trade reaching unprecedented heights.

In the post-Soviet era, India-Russia trade relations continued to grow, with bilateral trade increasing from USD 1.4 billion in 1995 to USD 65.7 billion in 2023-23. The two nations have also strengthened their investment ties, with Indian companies investing in Russia's oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, and IT sectors, and Russian companies investing in India's energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors.

Bilateral Trade Figures

• Bilateral trade between India and Russia reached a record high of USD 65.7 billion in FY 2023-24, up 33% y-o-y, and nearly 5.5 times higher than the pre-pandemic trade of USD 10.1 billion.

• It comprises India’s exports worth USD 4.26 billion and imports from Russia amounting to USD 61.44 billion.

• Key Indian exports include agri-products (shrimp, rice, tobacco, tea, coffee, grapes), chemical products, pharmaceuticals, smartphones, aeroplane components, machinery, equipment, vehicles, clothing and knitwear, leather goods, ceramic products, iron and steel, electrical machinery, and surgical tools.

• Major imports from Russia are dominated by oil and petroleum product, fertilizers, bituminous substances, mineral fuels, mineral waxes, machinery, equipment, precious metals and stones, wood, pulp and paper products, metals and vegetable oils.

• Bilateral trade in services has remained stable over the past five years, with a trade balance favoring Russia. In 2021, it totaled USD 1.021 billion.

• Both sides expect to reach the bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030.

Bilateral Investment Figures

• At the summit in New Delhi in December 2021, the leaders of the two countries confirmed the goal of increasing the bilateral investment volume to USD 50 billion. 

• As of October 2023, India’s investments in Russia were estimated to be USD 16 billion, up from USD 6.5 billion in 2011. Russian Investments in India total around USD 20 billion as per the remarks made by President Putin in December 2024.

• Russian investments in India are concentrated in sectors like oil and gas, petrochemicals, banking, railways, and steel. Meanwhile, Indian investments in Russia primarily focus on oil and gas, along with pharmaceuticals.

Bilateral Institutional Mechanisms

• India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) is the apex G2G forum for bilateral economic cooperation. It is chaired by External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India Dr. S Jaishankar and First Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) of Russia Mr. Denis Manturov. The 25th session of IRIGC-TEC was held in New Delhi on 12 November, 2024. 

• At present, there are 15 Working Groups (WG) and 6 Sub-Groups (SG) under IRIGC. Namely, WGs on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Modernization and Industrial Cooperation, Priority Investment Projects, Banking and Financial Matters, Energy & Energy Efficiency, ICT, Pharmaceuticals, Culture, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Urban Development, Road Transport, Higher Education, Northern Sea Route.  The SGs include Trade Barriers, Civil Aviation, Fertilizers, Mining, Railways and Modernization.

• India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) is another G2G mechanism co-chaired by Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog on Indian side and Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. 3rd round of the IRSED was held on April 15th 2021 in a video-conferencing mode. There are six coordination committees under the IRSED in six areas – Transport, Agriculture, Digital transformation, SMEs, Trade and Banking and Tourism.

High-level Visits (Prime Minister of India)

• The Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, has undertaken several visits to Russia, significantly bolstering India-Russia economic relations.

• During Prime Minister’s inaugural visit in 2014, key agreements were reached on defense cooperation and nuclear energy, with a bilateral trade target of USD 20 billion set for 2015. Subsequent visits in 2015 and 2016 further enhanced economic cooperation, including the establishment of a joint investment fund and promotion of diamond trade.

• The 2017 visit witnessed the signing of agreements for six additional nuclear reactors and strengthened defense cooperation, with a revised trade target of USD 30 billion by 2025. The 2018 SCO Summit facilitated regional trade cooperation, while the 2019 visit expanded energy cooperation, defense collaboration, and set an ambitious trade target of USD 50 billion by 2025. The 2021 virtual summit reaffirmed the commitment to enhance economic cooperation, and promote bilateral investment.

• The annual visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia in July 2024 marked significant advancements in economic and trade cooperation. Key agreements included setting a bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030, exploring new long-term contracts in energy resources, and promoting industrial cooperation in sectors like transport engineering and metallurgy. Both sides agreed to continue working on a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union. Furthermore, it was emphasized the importance of increasing Indian exports to Russia and promoting joint manufacturing in India of spare parts and components for Russian-origin arms and defense equipment

High-level Visits (Russian President)

• President Vladimir Putin has visited India several times over the last two and half decades and has been instrumental in nurturing the relationship after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

• President Putin visited India in Decemeber 2021 when he traveled with Russia's defense and foreign ministers in a visit that saw the two countries reinforce their ties with a military and technical cooperation pact until 2031 and a pledge to boost annual trade to USD 30 billion by 2025. The two countries had signed 28 investment pacts, including deals on steel, shipbuilding, coal and energy.

• In October 2018, President Putin visited New Delhi for an annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both sides signed a USD 5 billion deal on S-400 surface to air missile systems to be supplied by Russia to India.

High-level Visits (Ministerial Level)

• During August 11-13, 2019, Commerce & Industry Minister (CIM) Shri Piyush Goyal led a high-power delegation of Chief Ministers of Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Goa and about 140 Indian companies to Vladivostok from About 200 Russian companies, Investment Agencies and Funds took part from the Russian side. Companies interacted separately with identified partners in an expanded B2B format and established contacts for further deliberations. The companies belonged to a wide cross-section of priority sectors, including minerals and rare earth, energy, forestry and timber, healthcare, agriculture and food processing, ceramics, tourism and infrastructure.

• On 22-24 October, 2019 Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Steel, Petroleum and Natural Gas, visited the Far East Region of the Russian Federation.

• On 02-05 September 2021, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Puri participated in the 6th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. During the visit he met the Russian Energy Minister Shulginov and leadership of Russian oil and gas majors including Rosneft, Gazpromneft, Novatek, Sibur to review the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. He visited Sakhalin site which has Indian investment. 

• On November 07-08 2022, EAM Jaishankar visited Moscow for consultations with Foreign Minister Lavrov and a meeting of the IRIGC-TEC. EAM led a delegation of senior officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Petroleum and Natural gas, Ports, Finance, Chemicals and Fertilizers as well as Commerce and Industry for substantive discussions to chart the future course of action, with the goal of realising the optimum potential of bilateral trade and economic relations – a target of USD 30 billion by 2025 – to address the existing trade deficit and market access issues in the interest of long term stability.

• On 25-29 December 2023, EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Russia. In Moscow, EAM called on President Putin and held discussions with DPM Manturov, as well as the Foreign Minister Lavrov. EAM had comprehensive exchange of views on bilateral cooperation in trade and economic, energy, defense, connectivity, cultural and people to people exchanges, and cooperation between regions of the two countries. Three documents relating to the Kudan Kulam Nuclear Power Plants, an MoU on cooperation in pharmaceuticals and healthcare were signed during the visit. In Saint Petersburg, EAM met the Governor, Alexander Beglov and discussed possibilities of cooperation in the economic and cultural field.

• On April 17-18, 2023, DPM Denis Manturov visited India to co-chair the 24th session of the IRIGC-TEC. During the meeting, both sides reviewed issues of bilateral trade, financial, industrial and energy cooperation, including the nuclear power industry, agriculture, transportation, healthcare, education and culture. DPM Manturov also held bilateral meetings with Commerce & Industry Minister, Finance Minister and NSA.

• On November 10-12, 2024, First DPM Manturov again visited India for the 25th session of the IRIGC-TEC. Both sides agreed to work expeditiously for early finalization of the Programme of Economic Cooperation 2030, and take steps to enhance market access that could enable businesses communities of the two countries to achieve the bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030. First DPM Manturov’s other bilateral engagements included a call on the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on 11 November 2024, and meetings with the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs and NSA.