NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their annual summit this week with a focus on expanding economic cooperation and insulating the long-standing partnership from growing global geopolitical pressures. Both leaders signalled that the relationship is moving beyond its traditional dependence on defence and energy towards a broader engagement covering trade, manufacturing and connectivity.
The central outcome of the meeting was the finalisation of the Economic Cooperation Programme through 2030, which sets a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to $100 billion by the end of the decade. This marks a significant rise from last year’s trade volume of around $69 billion. Both sides also acknowledged the sharp trade imbalance, largely due to India’s heavy energy imports from Russia, and said they would work towards diversifying trade by encouraging greater Russian purchases of Indian pharmaceuticals, food products and manufactured goods. Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union will be fast-tracked with the aim of supporting this effort.
To protect bilateral commerce from sanctions and currency volatility, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to expanding the use of national currencies in trade settlements. A large share of current transactions already take place in rupees and rubles. The two countries also said they would work towards improving compatibility between their national payment systems.
Energy cooperation remained a key pillar of the partnership. President Putin assured India of uninterrupted supplies of crude oil, natural gas and coal. The two sides also agreed to continue cooperation on civil nuclear energy, including ongoing work at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
In a boost to India’s fertiliser security, Indian companies will partner with Russia’s URALCHEM to establish a urea production plant in Russia to ensure stable long-term supplies for the Indian market.
Defence cooperation remained an important element of the relationship, with both sides agreeing to support joint manufacturing of spare parts and components for Russian-origin defence equipment in India under the Make in India initiative. The two countries also agreed to continue the INDRA joint military exercises.
Connectivity and logistics were another focus of the talks. Both sides said they would work to strengthen transport links through the International North–South Transport Corridor and the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime route to improve trade efficiency.
On the diplomatic front, Russia reiterated its support for India’s permanent membership of a reformed United Nations Security Council. The two countries agreed to closely coordinate their positions in multilateral forums such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the G20. They also committed to enhanced cooperation against terrorism, extremism and transnational crime.
In a major step to strengthen people-to-people ties, India announced that it will offer free 30-day e-tourist visas and 30-day group tourist visas for Russian citizens, with no processing fee.
India and Russia further agreed to collaborate on low-carbon development and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The outcomes of the 23rd Annual India–Russia Summit reflect a broad effort by both nations to expand their partnership across economic, strategic and connectivity domains, even as shifting global dynamics continue to reshape international relations.
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