India, Russia set $100 billion trade target by 2030, to move forward on FTA: Foreign Secretary

Moscow, July 9 (IANS) India and Russia have set a new target of $100 billion in trade between the two nations by 2030, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed larger space of economic engagement, covering trade, capital linkages, energy, science and technology cooperation, and defence and security.

Trade between India and Russia stood at $65.7 billion in the financial year ending March 2024, a 33 per cent rise over the previous year.

In a media briefing, Kwatra said that a significant component of the bilateral meetings was to how the partnership between India and Russia can also give a fillip to ‘Make in India’ and other manufacturing partnerships across a whole range of economic domains.

“PM Modi took up the need to broaden the trade basket between the two countries and in this regard, spoke about a greater market access for Indian goods, both in the agriculture and the industrial sector,” he said.

The two leaders also spoke about the need to move forward on the free trade agreement (FTA) with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

“We have had one round of discussions between the two countries and it is expected that this would be expedited in the months ahead,” said Kwatra.

The two sides have signed nine documents, principally in the economic space. The two leaders also spoke about the new proposed corridor — the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor. They also focused on important areas in the economic domain, particularly fertiliser supply from Russia to India which is directly linked to the crop production and the farmers’ yield in India.

In the nuclear energy field, the continuing cooperation on the economical nuclear power projects was discussed between the two leaders. Earlier, PM Modi was conferred the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Russia’s highest civilian award.

–IANS

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