AMN / WEB DESK
External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has expressed confidence that India and Russia will achieve the trade target of 100 billion dollars well before the deadline of 2030.
In his remarks at the 25th Session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in New Delhi today, Dr. Jaishankar said, Russia has emerged as a major source of fertilizers for India. He said, Russia’s supply of crude oil, coal and uranium are indeed important. He added that India’s pharmaceutical industry has emerged as an affordable and reliable source for Russia.
The Minister said, there have been challenges to trade, especially in regard to payments and logistics. He however said that perceptible progress has been made in that regard, but there is still some work to be done. Dr Jaishankar stressed that Indo-Russian joint endeavours in regard to connectivity like the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor and the Northern Sea Route must go forward. He said, both sides will discuss cooperation critical for their food, energy and health security.
In his remarks visiting Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said, over the last five years, trade turnover between the countries have grown more than five-fold. He added that India is now the second country among all the foreign economic partners of Russia.