Jaishankar Says India, Russia Should Tap Into ‘Full Potential Of Trade And Investment Ties’

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India and Russia should come out with a creative and innovative approach to confront complex geopolitical challenges. He further asserted that both the nations should tap into the “full potential of trade and investment ties”.

Jaishankar made the statement at a meeting with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow. He is on a three-day visit to Moscow as India faces additional tariffs from the United States for purchasing Russian oil. 

In the televised opening remarks, Jaishankar stated that the two countries should continuously diversify and expand their "agenda" of cooperation including by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and through more joint ventures, PTI reported.  “We should not get stuck on a beaten track. Doing more and doing differently should be our mantras,” he said. 

The meeting was aimed at preparing grounds for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to India later this year. The talks were held under the framework of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

"I would urge that we set ourselves some quantifiable targets and specific timelines so that we challenge ourselves to achieve more, perhaps even surpass what we set out to do," he said.

"Each working Group and each sub Group could apply itself to setting of targets and see what we could achieve by the next session of the IRIGC-TEC," he added. He claimed to make IRIGC become even more result-oriented, relevant and readily available to the business communities of the two sides. 

India and Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union also commenced trade talks which were halted after Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022. The group comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, apart from Russia. 

“India and the EAEU comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to launch negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) today in Moscow. The ToR was signed by Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce Ajay Bhadoo, and Deputy Director, Trade Policy Department, EEC, Mikhail Cherekaev,” the commerce and industry ministry said.