 "External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov at the India-Russia Business Forum, Mumbai, on November 11, 2024. Source: X | @DrSJaishankar")
Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov is currently on a two-day official visit to India. The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between India and Russia with a focus on the expansion of business and economic cooperation.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took to X to welcome Manturov. He wrote “Pleased to welcome Manturov to India today. Look forward to our engagement at the India - Russia Business Forum tomorrow.”
On November 11, 2024, Manturov will take part in the Indian-Russian Business Forum in Mumbai which will be aimed at improving economic and business cooperation between both India and Russia. Organised by the Business Council for Cooperation with India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Cooperation and Industries (FICCI), the event includes several thematic sessions on different aspects: industrial collaboration, transportation and logistics, finance, digital technology and interregional ties.
On November 12, Manturov along with Jaishankar will join the 25th session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in Delhi. The IRIGC-TEC is headed by Jaishankar and Manturov. The session will look at the ongoing bilateral initiatives and explore new areas for collaboration.
Key highlights about the India-Russia relationship:
India-Russia relations: The relations between India and Russia strengthened after the signing of the Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership. There has been a significant increase in cooperation in all sectors namely: politics, security, defence, trade and economy, science and technology, culture and people-to-people ties. In 2010, the relationship was upgraded to “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” when the Russian President came to India.
Leadership: The India-Russia intergovernmental division of Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation is headed by the External Affairs Minister from India (S Jaishankar currently) and the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Manturov.
Leadership-level engagements: The highest leadership-level engagement is the Annual Summit between the Prime Minister of India and the President of the Russian Federation. The leadership-level engagements take place alternatively between India and Russia. To date, 22 Annual Summits have taken place including the last summit held between July 8-9, 2024 in Moscow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given the highest honour of Russia, “The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle”, for his contributions to bilateral relations.
IRIGC-TEC Engagements: Ministers from both countries engage in the dialogue at regular intervals. Manturov is already on an ongoing two-day official visit to India. He will join the Jaishankar tomorrow to diversify the strategic partnerships. They will aim at improving trade and economic cooperation between both countries.
Multilateral engagements: India and Russia both cooperate closely in several multilateral engagements including UN, G20, BRICS and SCO. When India hosted the SCO and G20 event, ministers from Russia participated in the event and exchanged dialogues about the bilateral ties.
Trade and economic relations: Trade and economy have been significant areas of dialogue between the two nations. Manturov has come to India to focus on these areas. Both India and Russia have set a target of $ 50 billion of bilateral investment by 2025 and $ 100 billion of bilateral trade by 2030. The bilateral trade reached an all-time high of $65.70 billion in FY 2023-24, according to data from the Department of Commerce.
Bilateral investments: Bilateral investments crossed the target set by the nations in 2018 and now it is set at $50 billion. Investments by Russia in India include oil and gas, petrochemicals, banking, railways and the steel sector. On the other hand, investments by India in Russia include the oil and gas and pharmaceutical sectors.
Defence Mechanism: The defence mechanism between both countries is guided by the IRIGC-M&MTC mechanism and it is headed by the defence ministry of both countries. The 20th IRIGC-M&MTC meeting was held in December 2021. With time and dialogue, the cooperation has grown stronger and now both countries work closely in research, development and production of defence systems.
Science and Technology cooperation: From working on basic science and technology to help in India’s manned spaceflight program Gaganyaan, science and technology have been major sectors of cooperation between India and Russia. The Kundakulam Nuclear Plant was established in India with the help of Russia.
Education: The bilateral ties between the citizens of Russia and India continue to grow stronger through education. Both the countries work closely to enhance the education mechanism. Initiatives such as the Atal Innovation Mission of India and the SIRIUS Centre collaborate to strengthen educational ties.