Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov Visits India to Strengthen Economic Ties
New Delhi, India: Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Denis Manturov, has embarked on a two-day visit to India, which began on Monday, with the goal of enhancing bilateral trade relations and fostering deeper economic cooperation between the two countries. His visit includes crucial meetings and forums aimed at bolstering strategic ties and addressing key areas of mutual interest.
Key Engagements and Forum Participation:
One of the key highlights of Manturov’s visit is his co-chairing of the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation (IGC-TEC), alongside India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar. The IGC-TEC meeting, which will take place in New Delhi on November 12, is expected to focus on a wide range of issues that are central to strengthening India-Russia relations.
On the first day of his visit, Manturov will also participate in the India-Russia Business Forum in Mumbai, where he will engage with business leaders and entrepreneurs from both nations. This forum will serve as a platform to discuss and explore new opportunities for collaboration in industries such as manufacturing, logistics, finance, and digital technologies. The event will seek to address challenges in trade and explore avenues for creating a robust economic partnership between the two countries.
Agenda of the IGC-TEC Meeting:
The upcoming IGC-TEC meeting is expected to cover several important topics aimed at expanding bilateral economic ties. These include improving payment mechanisms between India and Russia, exploring the feasibility of trade in national currencies, and discussing a joint venture between Russia’s Transmashholding (TMH) and India to manufacture Vande Bharat trains. Other important areas of focus will include advancing connectivity initiatives and fostering cooperation in energy, tourism, science and technology, and civil aviation.
Since its establishment in 1992, the IGC-TEC has served as an essential forum for monitoring and driving trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, helping to align their mutual goals and interests.
Strategic Bilateral Trade Goals:
India and Russia have set an ambitious target to reach a $100 billion trade volume by 2030, up from $65.7 billion in 2023-24. However, trade between the two nations has been relatively imbalanced, with India’s exports to Russia amounting to only $5 billion, signaling a need to boost Indian exports and narrow the trade deficit.
Expanding Diplomatic Engagements:
The visit comes at a time of heightened diplomatic engagements between the two countries. In addition to Manturov’s visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently attended the BRICS summit in Russia, where he reaffirmed India’s commitment to multilateral diplomacy and emphasized collective efforts to tackle global challenges such as terrorism, cyber threats, and the security of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence.
Manturov’s visit highlights the continued strengthening of the India-Russia relationship, building on the high-level visits and diplomatic engagements that have taken place this year, including Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Russia earlier in 2024. The visit further underscores the importance of economic cooperation between the two nations, which is poised to deepen in the coming years, with strategic sectors like defense cooperation, energy, and infrastructure development expected to feature prominently in future dialogues.
As Manturov wraps up his visit, the business community and policymakers on both sides are optimistic that these engagements will lay the groundwork for an even more robust partnership, paving the way for long-term economic growth and shared prosperity between India and Russia.
