Looking beyond oil trade: Russia eyes joint ventures with India for localisation of products; ‘India remains an absolute priority…’
Looking to extend ties beyond energy and oil, Russia is aiming to set up joint ventures with Indian firms in several sectors. Several Russian firms are engaged in discussions to localise manufacturing across segments such as engineering, shipbuilding, information technology, renewable power, oil processing and metallurgy.This follows the annual India Russia summit held in December, which saw a strong focus on economic cooperation. “India remains an absolute priority in Moscow’s foreign economic agenda,” Andrey Sobolev, Russia’s trade representative in India, said recently in an interview with Russian state-owned news agency TASS.
According to Sobolev, both sides are keen to broaden bilateral commerce by boosting the share of non-resource and non-energy products. “This interest is clearly evident on both sides,” he said.He noted that Russian companies increasingly see India as an attractive destination for setting up local production facilities, aimed not only at serving the Indian market but also at supplying South Asia and other international markets. At the same time, Indian firms are showing growing interest in business opportunities within Russia.Sobolev also highlighted the Northern Sea Route as a key area with strong potential for collaboration between the two countries. He said India and Russia have agreed on benchmarks to develop a stable cargo base and define economic parameters for transportation along the route, while also examining prospects for joint ventures in logistics and shipbuilding. These efforts point to rising business interest in the corridor over the medium to long term, he told TASS.The Northern Sea Route serves as the primary maritime corridor within Russia’s Arctic zone, running along the country’s northern shoreline through several Arctic seas, including the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi and Bering seas, according to an ET report. This passage links ports in European Russia and the Far East with navigable Siberian rivers, creating an integrated transport network. Extending about 5,600 km, the route spans from the Kara Strait in the west to Providence Bay in the east.India is aiming to double the value of its exports of goods and services to Russia to $10 billion, Ajay Sahai, director general and CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said at a meeting hosted by the Russian Trade Mission in India in December. “There are a number of sectors where we have already gained market access, and we will likely have to increase our reach into the Russian market,” he had said.Sahai added that while progress towards the target of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030 is encouraging, he would like to see Indian exports contribute at least $30-35 billion to that figure, with imports from Russia accounting for around $60-65 billion. “It’s encouraging that we’re approaching our goal of $100 billion in trade turnover by 2030, but I would be very happy if at least $30-35 billion came from exports from India, and about $60-65 billion from imports from Russia,” he had said.
