India is in talks with Russia on free trade deals
India and Russia want to strengthen their economic relations with a free trade agreement. There is an advance agreement on this, said Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar at an event in New Delhi on Monday. According to Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov, this will offer a guarantee for bilateral investments. In view of the western sanctions because of the Ukraine war, Russia wants to expand its trade relations with other countries, especially in Asia. India has not explicitly criticized the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has called for a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue.
Russia has meanwhile become India’s most important supplier of crude oil, replacing Iraq. Overall, Indian imports from Russia in the 12 months ended March 31 nearly quadrupled to $46.33 billion. Industry Minister Manturov said Moscow is striving to increase machine imports from India. “We need to find a niche in products that India can replace,” he told reporters.