New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Friday, assured India of uninterrupted fuel supplies as part of a broader push to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.
At a joint press meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Putin said that “We are ready to continue uninterrupted shipments of fuel for the growing Indian economy”.
The announcement came as both the countries signed multiple agreements, covering sectors from fertilisers and food safety to shipping and maritime logistics, as Prime Minister Modi highlighted economic cooperation between the two nations, saying that, “India and Russia have agreed on an economic cooperation program to expand trade till 2030.”
Russia expects to boost its oil exports to India again and views the current decline that has taken place due to Western sanctions as a very temporary phase, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week.
“There can be, for a very brief period of time, insignificant decreases in the volume of oil trade,” Peskov told Indian journalists via a video link.
India had become the top buyer of Russia’s seaborne oil in the wake of the Ukraine war, but has recently cut crude imports due to US sanctions on leading Russian producers Rosneft and Lukoil.
Following this, Europe has also announced sanctions against the purchase of petroleum products distilled from Russian crude.
In 2023–24, the bilateral trade between India–Russia was valued at $65.70 billion, comprising $4.26 billion in Indian exports and $61.44 billion in imports. The countries aim to take the bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.
According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, India and Russia must work together to bring greater diversity and balance to their trade basket as he highlighted the huge opportunity in the bilateral economic partnership.
In his address at the India-Russia Business Forum here, Union Minister Goyal said: “Bilateral trade between the two countries is reaching $70 billion, but we cannot rest, we need to grow, we need to balance that.”
Some of India’s top imports from Russia in FY25 include crude oil at nearly $57 billion, animal and vegetable fats and oils at $2.4 billion, fertilisers at $1.8 billion, and pearls, precious, and semi-precious stones at $433.93 million.
(IANS)
