Jaishankar Invites Russian Firms To Partner With India, Expand Trade Links

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday invited Russian companies to engage "more intensively" in India as the two countries aim to expand commercial ties in the face of US tariff policies.

He said India's $4 trillion GDP, growing at 7%, requires assured supplies of essential products, fertiliser, chemicals, and machinery from dependable sources. Russia is a key producer and supplier of these items to India.

"Its rapidly growing infrastructure offers business openings to enterprises with an established track record in their own country," Jaishankar was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

"The 'Make in India' and other such initiatives have opened up new windows for foreign businesses. The modernisation and the urbanisation of India generate their own demands, flowing from shifts in consumption and lifestyle,” the minister said. 

"Each of these dimensions represents an invitation for Russian companies to engage more intensively with their Indian counterparts. We encourage them to rise to that challenge," he added.

Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Moscow to further strengthen the 'time-tested' India-Russia partnership. He met senior Kremlin officials to prepare the grounds for President Vladimir Putin's visit to India later this year.

"Our trade basket remains limited and till recently, so did our trade volume. It may have grown in recent years, but then, so too has the trade deficit. Both the diversification and balancing of trade now urgently mandate more strenuous efforts on our part. At the end of the day, they are essential not just to reach higher trade targets but even to sustain the existing levels," Jaishankar said.

His comments amid against the backdrop of strains in India's ties with the US following President Donald Trump doubling tariffs on Indian goods to 50% which included an additional penalty of 25% for purchasing Russian crude oil. Both India and Russia have criticised the penalties.