First DY. Prime Minister of Russia Dennis Manturov's Visit to India

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Manturov visited India from 10 to 12 November 2024. Dennis Manturov first visited Mumbai, where he co-chaired the India- Russia Business Forum meeting. He later visited New Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman and the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

In New Delhi, on 12 November 2024, he co-chaired the 25th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

Following are the main highlights of Dennis Manturov's visit to India. 

India -Russia Business Forum Meeting 

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Manturov co-chaired the India-Russia Business Forum meeting.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), organised it on 11 November 2024 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Both countries have set a target to achieve a bilateral trade target of  $100 billion by 2030.

Dr Jaishankar called for an increase in India's exports to Russia to address the huge trade imbalance between the two countries.

India-Russia Trade Ties 

The total trade between India and Russia in 2023-24 was $ 65.70 billion.

India's imports from Russia were $61.44 billion, and exports to Russia were $4.26 billion, and the trade was in favour of Russia.

India is a major buyer of Russian crude oil, and it constitutes a major portion of Indian imports from Russia. Besides oil, India imports fertilisers, mineral resources, precious stones and metals, and vegetable oils, particularly soyabean and sunflower oil.

India's exports to Russia mainly consist of electrical machinery and mechanical appliances, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals and iron and steel.

India is the second largest trading partner of Russia after China.

Russia was India's fourth largest trading partner in 2023-24, after China the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

25th IRIGC-TEC meeting in New Delhi 

The 25th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) was held in New Delhi on 12 November 2024

The 25th IRIGC-TEC was co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, and the visiting Russian minister Dennis Manturov.

The IRIGC-TEC  was set up under the Inter-Governmental Agreement signed between India and Russia in 1992.

The  IRIGC-TEC is the major coordinating mechanism for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, economic ties, science and technology, and culture.

During the meeting, both sides agreed to expedite the process for early finalisation of the Programme of Economic Cooperation 2030 to realise the bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030.

India Russia Ties 

The India-Russia relationship has been the pillar of Indian foreign policy, and Russia has been India's time-tested friend.

The new direction to the India- Russia relationship was given during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India in October 2020 when the two countries signed the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership”.

The relationship was elevated to the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership”,

during President Putin's visit to India in December 2010.

Russia is a major source of weapons for the Indian Armed Forces.

To strengthen and deepen ties between the two countries, the Indian Prime Minister and the Russian President hold an annual summit-level meeting.

The 22nd summit meeting was held in July 2024 in Moscow during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia.

India and Russia have also started a 2+2 Dialogue (Foreign and Defence Ministers of both countries), and the first such dialogue was held in 2021.

Know more about PM Modi's visit to Russia in July