Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have instructed their governments to deepen bilateral cooperation as the two countries work towards increasing trade to USD 100 billion by 2030, Ambassador Vinay Kumar has said.
In an interview with Russian news agency TASS published on Saturday, Indian envoy Kumar said the two leaders discussed the full range of bilateral relations on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12-13.
“One of the concrete results of the cooperation was the joint participation of the leaders of our countries in the BRICS business summit, as well as a visit to the Innoprom-India exhibition — the first Russian industrial exhibition held in New Delhi,” the Indian envoy told TASS.
He said the leaders had directed relevant ministries and agencies to further develop cooperation, including in trade and commerce.
Kumar said India and Russia continued to work towards increasing bilateral trade to USD 100 billion and two-way investment to USD 50 billion by 2030.
On labour cooperation, Kumar said India aimed to supply Russia with the required number of skilled workers in line with its needs.
Indians account for around 25 to 30 per cent of Russia's quota for foreign workers, he said.
Kumar noted that India, with a population of nearly 1.5 billion, was set to become a global centre for skilled personnel.
The average age of India's workforce is 29 years, and workers account for about 69 per cent of the population, he said.
India trains specialists for its domestic market as well as for employment overseas, Kumar said, adding that New Delhi had proposed that Russia establish educational institutions in India or collaborate with existing Indian institutions to train workers needed by Russian industries.
(With inputs from PTI)