Russia must import much more from India, including items such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles, to address the glaring trade imbalance between the two counties, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar has said. It must also remove non-tariff barriers and other impediments.
“We reaffirmed our shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India’s exports to Russia,” Jaishankar said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow following their bilateral meeting on Thursday.
Jaishankar, who is on three-day visit to Russia, also met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The Minister’s visit is significant as this month US President Donald Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on India, which includes 25 per cent levies as a sanction against its purchase of oil from Russia.
While India has refused to bow down before the US by stopping its purchase of discounted oil from Russia and there is general bonhomie over growing bilateral trade, it is concerned about its widening trade deficit with Moscow.
In FY25, Russia supplied goods, significantly oil, to India worth $63.7 billion while it imported goods worth just $4.88 billion leading to trade deficit ballooning to $59 billion. India’s oil purchase from Russia shot up since the Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow in early 2022 for attacking Ukraine.
Deficit ballooned
On Wednesday, in an interaction with Russian businesses, the Minister pointed out that while bilateral trade had grown in recent years (from pre-pandemic $10.1 billion to $ 68.7 billion in FY25), the trade deficit had also ballooned. He warned that the gap had to be narrowed for sustaining the high growth.
“Both the diversification and balancing of trade now urgently mandate more strenuous efforts on our part. At the end of the day, they are essential not just to reach higher trade targets but even to sustain the existing levels,” he said.
Over the last two years, Indian government and exporters have pursued the matter diligently with the Russian government and industry listing out possible items of Russian interest that could be supplied and also the existing non-trade barriers.
“Senior officials from the Commerce Department, who are part of the visiting delegation to Moscow, also stressed on the need and ways to increase Russian imports from India in their interactions with Russian trade officials and ministers,” a source, tracking the matter, said.
Jaishankar said that his discussions with Lavrov also focussed on steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilizers and supply of skilled work force from India to Russia. “Indian skilled workers, especially in IT, construction, and engineering, can address the labour needs in Russia and deepen collaboration. Sustaining energy co-operation through trade and investments is also important,” he said.
