India And Russia Forge Ahead With Trade Barrier Solutions Before Highly Anticipated PM Modi-Putin Meeting In Delhi

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Amidst ongoing trade tensions in the world, India and Russia, in a strategic move to strengthen economic ties, are set to tackle trade barriers for enhanced cooperation between the two nations. The bilateral efforts are likely to resolve the hurdles ahead of the highly anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in December in New Delhi, revealed Sberbank’s First Deputy Chairman, Alexander Vedyakhin. He stressed that the importance of reducing regulatory, tariff, and legislative hurdles that currently impede bilateral trade will benefit both countries.

The effort to dismantle trade barriers between India and Russia is particularly noteworthy in the current global context, marked by escalating trade tensions, notably with the United States under Donald Trump’s administration. Trump’s tariffs on various countries have brought uncertainty to global trade. Against the present backdrop, the upcoming meeting between PM Modi and Putin assumes importance, as the two leaders vow to strengthen economic ties and unlock new opportunities for growth and cooperation.

The India-Russia partnership is crucial in the current global economic situation, where trade tensions and protectionism are on the rise. The two nations have agreed to identify and propose solutions to the main barriers hindering their trade relations. By addressing these obstacles, India and Russia are looking to unlock new opportunities for growth and cooperation. 

India and Russia have set an ambitious target to boost bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. To achieve this goal, the two nations are focusing on increasing Indian exports to Russia through strengthened industrial cooperation, new technological and investment partnerships, and enhanced trade flows of industrial products. The agreement between the Federal Customs Service of Russia (FCSR) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of India (CBIC) on mutual recognition of the relevant institutions of the Authorized Economic Operator, signed in May 2024, is expected to provide an additional momentum to the expansion of the nomenclature and increase the volume of Russia-India trade.

Sberbank’s First Deputy Chairman, Alexander Vedyakhin, also emphasised the importance of reducing regulatory, tariff, and legislative hurdles that currently impede bilateral trade.

Against the backdrop of the US trade tensions and Trump’s tariffs, especially on India at a staggering 50% for purchasing oil from Russia, the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December remains significant. Vedyakhin expressed hope that the discussion on trade barriers would also be a key agenda item during the meeting in Delhi. 

In a video message, Alexander Vedyakhin said, “It is very important, of course, to work on reducing the barriers that stand between the two countries. These are barriers related to the regulatory system, related to tariffs, and these are barriers related to certain types of legislative restrictions. And at yesterday’s session, we agreed that we would collect all the main barriers and propose a solution on how to remove these barriers. And we sincerely hope that this discussion, this conversation will also take place in the fields of the meeting of our two leaders, which will take place in December in Delhi.”

The two nations have agreed to identify and propose solutions to the main barriers hindering their trade relations. By addressing these obstacles, India and Russia are planning to unlock new opportunities for growth and cooperation.