Russia and India Strengthen Economic Partnership: Growth of Bilateral Trade Discussed at Mumbai Forum

Russia and India Strengthen Economic Partnership: Growth of Bilateral Trade Discussed at Mumbai Forum

In Mumbai, with the support of the Roscongress Foundation, the Russia-India Business Forum took place, bringing together business and industry representatives from both countries. Participants discussed ways to increase trade between Russia and India, as well as business cooperation in specific areas and sectors, including the development of Russia's Far East, smart city systems, collaboration in industry, IT, finance, and participation in business forums and conferences.

The Forum united representatives of government agencies, business associations, large and medium-sized businesses from both countries to develop joint solutions for creating a favorable business climate and the necessary conditions for business operations. The forum was organized by the Moscow Government and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The key theme of the forum was achieving $100 billion in trade turnover between Russia and India by 2030.

During the plenary session, External Affairs Minister of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, noted that trade between the two countries has already reached $66 billion, making the $100 billion target more than achievable. However, adjustments are needed to balance trade between the countries. First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov confirmed that the structure of Russia-India trade needs to be diversified to increase the share of non-commodity, high-tech products. Minister of the Government of Moscow, Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow Sergey Cheremin, stated that Russia is open to cooperation across all sectors to address this challenge and further increase trade turnover.

Another way to develop cooperation between the countries and reach the trade target is to engage Indian businesses in Russia's largest business events, such as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), and other events organized by the Roscongress Foundation. For example, during the 27th SPIEF, three agreements with Indian companies were signed, amounting to 14.6 billion rubles, which is only part of the deals that are not subject to commercial confidentiality.

At the session titled "Trends in the Manufacturing Sector, IT, Smart and Safe City Technologies," Alexey Valkov, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, spoke in detail about opportunities for cooperation with Russian partners through the Roscongress project ecosystem.

A separate meeting was also held with representatives of Indian business, where the Roscongress Foundation's ecosystem was presented in detail, along with events that facilitate the entry of foreign companies into the Russian market, such as the Eastern Economic Forum, the Russian Tourism Forum "Let's Travel!", Russian Energy Week, and particularly the importance of SPIEF in strengthening business ties.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the timber industry, automotive industry, oil refining, metallurgy, and comprehensive asset management sectors. Company executives discussed forum participation, the organization of discussions and events within the forum, and the signing of agreements.

Additionally, during the forum, an agreement was signed between the Roscongress Foundation and the Indian Chamber of Commerce. The signed document outlined bilateral agreements on the development of effective communication between expert communities, business, and political circles in Russia and India.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held from June 18 to 21, 2025.

Official event website: forumspb.com.