Underlining India’s resolve to work with Russia to advance the ‘’Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’’between the two countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said the two countries are committed to increasing bilateral trade from $ 68.7 billion to $ 100 billion by 2030.
Virtually addressing the ‘‘India and Russia: Towards a new bilateral agenda’’ conference, he was happy to note that in today’s evolving geo-political dynamic, the engagement between India and Russia continues to deepen, driven by regular high-level exchanges.
Jaishankar said the last visit of President Vladimir Putin to India in December 2025 broke new grounds, covering diverse and novel areas including mobility of skilled professionals, health and food safety, maritime cooperation, fertilizers, customs and commerce, academic and media cooperation”.
Talking about Russia’s partnership in India’s civil nuclear energy sector, he said, “Russia is our foremost partner in civil nuclear energy and the Kudankulam nuclear project is a stellar example. As India aims to increase its nuclear energy generation capacity to100 gigawatt by 2047, I am confident that it will find a trusted and reliable partner in Russia for peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”
The Indian minister also spoke about the depth of people-to-people ties based on a shared appreciation for art, Yoga, Ayurveda and Culture and expressed confidence that the new consulates in Kazan and Ekaterinburg will further strengthen the economic, cultural and social bonds.
Since India is the BRICS chairperson this year, he emphasised how the evolving multi-polar order necessitates greater cooperation between India and Russia, including through BRICS, SCO, G20 and the UN. He said India’s chairmanship of BRICS would see humanity first and a people-centric approach that looks forward to closely working with Russia to address shared challenges in a balanced and inclusive manner.
Jaishankar also called efforts by the two countries towards concluding an India-EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), address non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments and utilize the skilled Indian workforce.