Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed their shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India’s exports to Russia, strengthening industrial cooperation, forging new technological and investment partnerships, especially in advanced high-technology areas and finding new avenues and forms of cooperation, according to a joint statement issued on Friday after their meeting here.
The leaders welcomed the adoption of the Programme for the Development of Strategic Areas of India-Russia Economic Cooperation till 2030. The two leaders appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a Free Trade Agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investments, the statement said. Russia and India have agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral settlements through the use of national currencies in order to ensure the uninterrupted maintenance of bilateral trade.
Additionally, both have agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms. The two sides welcomed steps to ensure the long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
Both welcomed the signing of agreements related to the mobility of skilled workers between the two countries for taking up employment. The two leaders also noted the importance of productive and mutually beneficial bilateral trade in mineral resources, including energy sources, precious stones and metals, as well as critical raw materials for the reliability of the international supply chains.
Efficient cooperation in this area, carried out by Russia and India as sovereign states, is a significant component of their national security and social well-being, the statement added. Besides, the two sides discussed and commended their wide-ranging cooperation in the energy sector as a significant pillar of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
They noted the current and potential cooperation between Indian and Russian companies in fields such as oil and oil products, oil refining and petrochemical technologies, oilfield services and upstream technologies and related infrastructure, LNG and LPG related infrastructure, various existing projects in their countries, underground coal gasification (UCG) technology, nuclear projects, etc.
They also noted the importance of expeditious resolution of issues related to investment projects in this area, and agreed to resolve the various concerns being faced by their investors in the energy sector, the statement added.