NEW DELHI: Trade between India and Russia has grown more than five-fold in the past five years, noted visiting Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Manturov co-chaired the 25th session of India-Russia inter-governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Bilateral trade between the two countries is over $60 billion at present and Jaishankar said he was confident that the target of $100 billion would be achieved by 2030. India also hoped that the balance of trade will improve.
Manturov hoped for a conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India and also a bilateral agreement on services and investments. There was talk on expanding cooperation between Russian and Indian banks as at present the share of settlements in national and alternative currencies is 90 per cent.
"It is equally important to coordinate efforts in the transport sector. We are interested in expanding direct air traffic between our countries. We expect to increase the frequency of flights, develop the route network, and resume flights of Indian air carriers," said Manturov.
Discussions were held on cooperation in energy, engine building and microelectronics, chemistry, metallurgy, digital technologies, railway engineering, as well as space exploration.
India and Russia also discussed humanitarian cooperation, education exchange and recognition of educational degrees.