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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026

 

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--Minister Goyal: Aim to have $100-bln bilateral trade with Russia by 2030
--CONTEXT: Trade Minister Goyal's comments at India-Russia business dialogue 
--Minister Goyal: Aim at $50 bln two-way investment between India, Russia 
--Minister Goyal: India, Russia non-energy trade far lower than it should be 
--Minister Goyal:Urge Russia to open door to India invest in pharma, railways 
--Minister Goyal: Committed to conclude India-Eurasia FTA early 
--Minister Goyal: To keep boosting local currency trade settlement mechanism

 

NEW DELHI – India and Russia aim to achieve bilateral trade of $100 billion by 2030, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday. Both the countries have also committed to achieve two-way investment worth $50 billion. 

 

"A $100-billion target with a $60-billion base means adding about $40 billion in the next four years," Goyal said, while speaking at the India-Russia Business Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi. "That is not a modest ask, it requires more than double-digit growth year-on-year, sustained. And it requires significant effort from both sides, not just from government but equally from our businesses." 

 

Russia's Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov was also present at the event. The meeting comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, before the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday. 

 

India's total trade with Russia was $59.86 billion in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), with exports amounting to $4.49 billion and imports to $55.36 billion.

 

Goyal urged Russia to open the door wide for Indian investment in segments such as services, pharmaceuticals, information technology, engineering, and artificial intelligence, so that the $50-billion investment target is genuinely a two-way street. "We are fast-tracking our new bilateral investment treaty to give investors on both sides the legal certainty that projects and businesses look for when they are finalising investments." 

 

Goyal said that India is committed to conclude the free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic, early. India and the Eurasian Economic Union had signed the terms of reference to launch negotiations on an FTA in August 2025 in Moscow. 

 

Goyal, however, flagged that only a small portion of the potential had been tapped so far between both the countries, adding that India is not yet a significant exporter to Russia. He identified pharmaceuticals, auto components, tractors and food products among the opportunities waiting to be explored.

 

The minister said that non-energy trade between the two countries remained much smaller than its potential and reflected the headroom that needed to be filled to move bilateral trade from $60 billion to $100 billion. Last month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also highlighted India's rapidly growing trade deficit with Russia and called for urgent steps to rebalance the rapidly expanding bilateral trade, including greater market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, stronger payment mechanisms and deeper business-to-business engagement. 

 

The two countries continue to strengthen local currency settlement mechanism because payment friction more often than tariffs is what slows trade down on the ground, Goyal said. India's use of local currencies for trade settlement with Russia has increased significantly following Western sanctions on Moscow.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.44

 

Reported by Pratiksha

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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