Russia keen to increase trade with India - Deputy Prime Minister of Russia claims

New Delhi – Russia has a balanced trade of about $200 billion with China and is keen to increase its bilateral trade with India by proposing and negotiating a free trade agreement through Eurasian Economic Commission, said the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Denis Manturov who is currently on his visit to India. He also informed that Russia is independently trying to work on increasing bilateral trade with India. Dr S. Jaishankar met with the deputy Prime Minister of Russia, during which he mentioned India’s trade deficit with Russia and urged Russia to open its market for India.

After the Ukraine conflict, India largely increased its oil purchase from Russia as it was available at cheaper rates. This has caused a trade imbalance in favour of Russia as the trade volumes are touching $40 billion for the financial year 2022-23. Dr S. Jaishankar has appealed to Russia to provide more opportunities for India in Russian markets to balance the trade.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Manturov advocated for a free trade agreement with India under the Eurasian Economic Commission, which is under discussion. The Eurasian Economic Commission comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. As a result of these free trade agreements, India’s influence in Central Asian countries can increase. Just two days ago, a meeting was held between India and Iran regarding the development of Chabahar port. If completed, India can easily transport cargo to these Central Asian countries including Russia using this Iranian port. Against that background, the significance of the statements made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia has increased.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia mentioned that current trade with China is about $200 billion, and Russia is eager to increase trade with India. However, Deputy Prime Minister Manturov mentioned that a transaction of such scale would not be possible in Indian rupees alone. Over the past few weeks, Russia has been pushing the other BRICS members for an independent currency. India has not yet reacted to this at an official level. But there are claims that the BRICS currency could end the influence of the dollar. There are indications that Manturov is in talks with India for this.

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