The Iran war, which has sent crude oil prices spiralling worldwide, continues to wage on. Amid an intensifying oil and LNG shortage, Russia has offered to expand the scale of supply of crude oil and natural gas to India.
While the two parties agreed to further enhance the overall bilateral ties, energy cooperation surfaced prominently in meetings Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov held with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday.
Manturov also held discussions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi last evening, as per people familiar with the matter.
A Russian readout of the First Deputy Prime Minister's engagements in New Delhi said special attention was accorded to bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
"Denis Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas to the Indian market," it said.
The comments came as the the West Asia crisis continued to put strain on global energy market largely due to disruptions in supplies of crude oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). West Asia has been a major source of India's energy procurement.
Various issues relating to bilateral ties were deliberated extensively at the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC). It was co-chaired by Manturov and Jaishankar.
Expanding mutually beneficial trade, investment, and industrial cooperation was one of the key topics on the agenda, the Russian readout said.
"Specific steps were discussed to create favorable conditions for increasing bilateral trade turnover in the present context," it said.
Manturov noted that Russia increased supplies of fertilisers to India by 40 per cent by end of 2025 and is ready to continue meeting India's needs, it said.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both sides held wide ranging discussions focusing on trade, industry, energy, fertilizers, connectivity and mobility in addition to new opportunities in technology, innovation and critical minerals.
The two sides also reviewed the progress on the implementation of the various outcomes of the 23rd India Russia Annual Summit held in December last year, it said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited India for the summit. Following the summit talks between Modi and Putin, India and Russia unveiled a raft of measures including a five-year roadmap to build a robust economic partnership and to increase the annual trade to USD 100 billion by 2030.
Jaishankar and Manturov also exchanged views on regional and global developments including the conflict in West Asia, the MEA said.
The Russian readout also mentioned bilateral cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.
"As emphasised by Denis Manturov, Russia sees significant prospects for deepening engagement with India in this sphere," it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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