INDIA, RUSSIA AIM TO GROW ANNUAL TRADE BY 54 PCT WITHIN 6 YEARS

NEW DELHI, July 10 (Bernama) -- India and Russia aim to grow their annual trade by almost 54 per cent within six years as the two countries focus on expanding their economic relations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his July 8 to 9 visit to Russia had wide-ranging discussions with President Vladimir Putin on boosting cooperation in various fields.

With Russia being India's top crude oil supplier, the energy sector figured prominently in their talks.

They agreed on more cooperation in nuclear energy, oil refining, petrochemicals and energy investments, according to a joint statement on Tuesday.

The two sides aim to raise the volume of trade in agricultural products, food and fertilisers, with a target of US$100 billion in overall annual trade by 2030.

Bilateral trade reached US$65 billion in the financial year ending March 2024, with Russian exports to India totalling US$60 billion.

Russia and India agreed to continue discussions on removing trade barriers, including the possibility of a free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

"We have had one round of discussions between the two countries and it is expected that this would be expedited in months ahead," Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said at a press conference about the prospects for an FTA.

The two countries also agreed to grow interaction in the fields of infrastructure development, transport engineering, automobile production, shipbuilding, space and other industrial sectors.

They will also facilitate the entry of companies into each other's markets by creating subsidiaries and industrial clusters.

Another joint statement stated that the Russia-India partnership in the military sector is "reorienting presently to joint research and development, co-development and joint production" of arms and equipment.

"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment," it said.

In the nuclear sector, they noted the progress achieved in the construction of the remaining nuclear power units at Kudankulam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant developed in collaboration with Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom is India's largest such facility.

It will have six units of 1,000 MW capacity each and units 1 and 2 are operational.

Russia and India are discussing another site for building more nuclear power plants.

-- BERNAMA