NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday said India-Russia bilateral trade has increased more than four-fold over the past five years to nearly $60 billion, but flagged the widening trade imbalance as a major concern that needs to be addressed.
Addressing the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) in Moscow, EAM Jaishankar said bilateral trade in goods had risen from around USD 13 billion in 2021-22 to nearly USD 60 billion in 2025-26.
However, he noted that the expansion in trade had also been accompanied by a sharp increase in the trade deficit, which widened from about USD 6.6 billion to more than USD 50 billion during the same period.
“Addressing this imbalance is today one of our foremost priorities,” EAM Jaishankar said.
He said greater market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, stronger payment mechanisms and increased business-to-business engagement would be critical to addressing the imbalance and achieving the shared target of USD 100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
The minister also said the two sides could take stock of ongoing discussions on the India-Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) Free Trade Agreement.
EAM Jaishankar highlighted the broad range of areas covered by the India-Russia economic partnership, including energy, nuclear cooperation, metallurgy, space, railways, fertilisers, mobility of skilled professionals, connectivity and payment mechanisms.
He said the India-Russia partnership had demonstrated “resilience and adaptability” despite a complex international environment, with the two countries continuing to deepen their engagement based on mutual interests and confidence.
Referring to the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit held in December 2025, EAM Jaishankar said the two countries’ leaders had continued to provide clear direction to their “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening long-term economic cooperation.
EAM Jaishankar proposed three measures to make the IRIGC-TEC mechanism more effective as the economic partnership enters its next phase.
First, he called for a greater focus on implementation and outcomes. He said the extensive network of working groups and sub-groups should increasingly be assessed on the basis of concrete deliverables, with each group identifying outcomes to be achieved before the next session and actively engaging in problem-solving.
Second, EAM Jaishankar stressed the need for stronger engagement with businesses. Governments could create enabling frameworks, he said, but businesses were responsible for trade, investment, innovation and job creation.
Regular interaction with companies and industry associations would help identify practical bottlenecks, improve policy responsiveness and ensure that bilateral discussions remained commercially relevant and action-oriented, he said.
EAM Jaishankar cited the upcoming INNOPROM industrial exhibition in India as a positive signal for strengthening business engagement between the two countries.
Third, he called for continuously identifying new opportunities amid changes in the global economic and technological environment.
He said the evolving international situation was creating new possibilities as countries sought to derisk and diversify supply chains, while changing economic requirements and technological needs were also opening avenues for cooperation.
“Our fundamental complementarity still remains under-explored,” EAM Jaishankar said, adding that the progress made by the two countries in recent years should be taken forward.
The minister concluded by reiterating India’s intention to make full use of the IRIGC-TEC platform to achieve the bilateral economic objectives set by the two countries.