India and Russia have agreed to boost bilateral trade to over $100 billion by 2030 by increasing investments, using national currencies for transactions, and enhancing cooperation in sectors such as energy, agriculture, and infrastructure. This agreement was made during the 22nd Annual Bilateral Summit in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed their commitment to a special and privileged strategic partnership. In their joint statement, both sides reiterated their dedication to promoting Russia-India trade and economic cooperation. They outlined several key areas for collaboration, including trade settlement using national currencies, increasing cargo turnover through new routes such as the North-South Transport Corridor, and raising the volume of trade in agricultural products, food, and fertilisers. The leaders emphasised deepening cooperation in the energy sector, including nuclear energy, oil refining, and petrochemicals, as well as strengthening interactions for infrastructure development. Additionally, they agreed to promote investments and joint projects across the digital economy and collaborate on the supply of medicines and development of humanitarian cooperation. The joint statement also highlighted the goal of eliminating non-tariff trade barriers and continuing dialogue on the liberalisation of bilateral trade, with the possibility of establishing an EAEU-India Free Trade Area. A significant part of the agreement includes developing a bilateral settlement system using national currencies. This means India could potentially pay for Russian imports, such as crude oil, in Indian rupees, which Russia can then use to pay for imports from India, and vice versa with Russian rubles. They also agreed to increase cargo turnover through new routes, including the North-South International Transport Corridor, the Northern Sea Route, and the Chennai-Vladivostok Sea Line. The optimisation of customs procedures through intelligent digital systems for barrier-free movement of goods was also agreed upon. Both countries aim to increase the volume of bilateral trade in agricultural products, food, and fertilisers while maintaining intensive dialogue to remove veterinary, sanitary, and phytosanitary restrictions. They also plan to develop cooperation in key energy sectors, including nuclear energy, oil refining, and petrochemicals, and expand cooperation in energy infrastructure, technologies, and equipment, considering the prospects of a global energy transition. The two sides agreed to strengthen interaction in infrastructure development, transport engineering, automobile production, shipbuilding, space, and other industrial sectors. They will facilitate the entry of Indian and Russian companies into each other?s markets by creating subsidiaries and industrial clusters. Promotion of investments and joint projects in various sectors, including the digital economy, science and research, and educational exchanges, was also agreed upon. Furthermore, they plan to facilitate the creation of new joint companies by providing favourable fiscal regimes and promoting systematic cooperation in the development and supply of medicines and advanced medical equipment. This includes the possibility of opening branches of Indian medical institutions in Russia and recruiting qualified medical personnel. They also aim to strengthen coordination in medical and biological safety and develop humanitarian cooperation across education, science and technology, culture, tourism, sports, and healthcare. The leaders instructed the Russian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical, and cultural cooperation to study the identified priority areas and assess progress at its next meeting. (Source: PTI & ET)