India explores ways to boost exports to Russia after PM's visit

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow, India is looking into ways to boost its exports to Russia, including by encouraging rupee-rouble trade and pushing the country to lift non-tariff barriers. India and Russia have stepped up trade since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

The increase has however been overwhelmingly one-way, dominated by India buying Russian oil that had been shunned by European customers. Russian exports to India accounted for USD 61.43 billion of the USD 65.7 billion in trade between the two countries in the last fiscal year.

While trade between the two countries was up a third on the year before, India's exports of pharmaceuticals, machinery and other goods to Russia have barely budged.

Indian trade secretary Sunil Barthwal said the government had asked Russia to consider changes to some non-tariff barriers on Indian exports of marine food products. New Delhi is also planning to send a trade delegation while encouraging rupee-rouble trade that has failed to take off.

"When we are looking at Russia, we are looking at how both the countries can gain by better trade relationships," he said. "We are looking at various sets of commodities for example electronics, engineering goods and other items where there can be exports."

Ever since the war led to sanctions on Russian entities, New Delhi and Moscow have been trying to settle more trade in roubles and rupees. But because the Indian currency is not among the most transacted in the world, such settlements have not taken off as Russia does not want to amass it.

Russia and India also outlined nine key areas for closer cooperation, ranging from nuclear energy to medicine, and said they aimed to boost bilateral trade to hit USD 100 billion by 2030.

During Modi's visit to Russia last week, which coincided with a missile strike on a children's hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that killed dozens, the Indian leader told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the death of innocent children was painful and terrifying. Russia has denied responsibility.

Washington has criticised New Delhi for maintaining close ties with Moscow. A US State Department spokesperson said, “We have made quite clear directly with India our concerns about their relationship with Russia.”