India-Russia trade reached $27 billion this year

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
Delhi,
Dec
24:
India
welcomes
the
growth
of
trade
with
Russia
which
has
reached
USD
27
billion
this
year
mainly
due
to
its
purchasing
of
large
volumes
of
oil
and
fertilisers
from
Moscow,
but
New
Delhi
wants
it
to
become
“more
balanced”,
India’s
Ambassador
to
Moscow
Pavan
Kapoor
has
said.

Russia
has
become
a
major
oil
supplier
to
India.
India’s
appetite
for
Russian
oil
swelled
ever
since
it
started
trading
on
discount
as
the
West
shunned
it
to
punish
Moscow
for
its
invasion
of
Ukraine,
according
to
news
agency
PTI.

Russia
emerged
as
India’s
fifth
largest
trading
partner
during
April-September
this
fiscal
year
with
a
bilateral
trade
of
USD
22.7
billion
during
the
six-month
period.

“Trade
has
risen
considerably
this
year
since
April,
mainly
due
to
our
country’s
purchasing
large
volumes
of
oil
and
fertilisers,”
Kapoor
told
a
forum
on
Thursday.

India,
UAE
may
trade
in
INR
soon

“Trade
reached
USD
27
bln.
This
is
a
positive
trend,
though
[we]
would
like
it
to
be
bilateral,
as
[trade]
from
Russia
was
worth
USD
25
bln
while
[trade]
from
India
only
equalled
USD
2
bln,”
the
diplomat
said,
adding
that
the
Indian
side
“would
like
it
to
be
more
balanced,”
Russia’s
state-run
news
agency
TASS
reported.

This
state
of
affairs
looks
logical
as
there
are
many
other
markets
from
which
goods
flow
to
Russia
from
other
parts
of
the
world,
Kapoor
noted.

“But
I
would
like
to
make
a
suggestion
that
Russian
businessmen
look
at
India
as
the
main
source
of
their
activities.
This
concerns
not
only
pharma,
but
also
agricultural
products,
ceramics,
and
chemical
products,”
he
said.

If
businessmen
are
ready
to
bring
this
message
to
interested
sides,
it
would
be
a
good
backing
for
India,
he
said.

“We
are
trying
to
conduct
as
many
transactions
in
national
currencies
as
possible,
for
which
balanced
trade
is
required
as
one
side
accumulates
more,
while
the
other
[accumulates]
less,
and
we
should
search
for
solutions
to
this
situation,”
Kapoor
said.

In
2021-22,
Russia
was
the
25th
largest
trading
partner
of
India
with
a
bilateral
trade
of
USD
13.12
billion.
Exports
stood
at
USD
3.25
billion,
while
imports
aggregated
at
USD
9.9
billion
in
the
same
period.

Challenging
dollar
hegemony,
Sri
Lanka
to
trade
with
Russia
in
INR

India
and
Russia
have
vowed
to
expand
their
economic
engagement
including
New
Delhi’s
import
of
petroleum
products
from
its
“time-tested”
partner.

During
his
first
visit
to
Moscow
in
November
after
Russia
launched
its
invasion
of
Ukraine
in
February,
External
Affairs
Minister
S
Jaishankar
described
Indo-Russia
relations
as
“exceptionally
steady”
and
“time-tested”.

He
said
the
objective
is
to
fashion
a
contemporary,
balanced,
mutually
beneficial,
sustainable
and
long-term
engagement
between
the
two
sides.