India among Russia's top foreign trade partners: PM Mishustin

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - June 05, 2026 06:40 am IST - Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrive to attend a cabinet meeting in Moscow. | Photo Credit: AP India was among Russia's top foreign trade partners as Moscow redirected its energy flows to friendly countries, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday (January 20, 2026). Putin calls India reliable partner, hits out at Western interference The share of friendly countries in Russia's trade turnover has reached a historic high of 86%, with particular growth in trade with China, Belarus, India, and Kazakhstan, Mr. Mishustin said. In the financial year 2024–25, total India-Russia trade reached an all-time high of about $68.7 billion, up sharply from roughly $13 billion in 2021, marking nearly a five - to six- fold increase over four years. Both countries have set ambitious targets to lift bilateral trade toward $100 billion by 2030, reflecting deepening economic ties beyond energy, including sectors such as pharmaceuticals, defence, and technology. “By 2025, the benchmark for deliveries to friendly countries has already been exceeded — a new historical record of 86 per cent can be reached. China, Belarus, India and Kazakhstan demonstrated significant growth," Mr. Mishustin said in his televised remarks at a strategic session on the development of foreign economic activity. Russia has redirected a significant portion of energy supplies to friendly countries, but certain segments in this sphere do not boast high flexibility and they require longer-term and costly efforts to redirect flows. “Nevertheless, despite unprecedented external pressure [Western sanctions], Russia has demonstrated a high level of efficiency in adaptation to sanctions. A sizable portion of energy resource flows was directed to friendly countries,” Mr. Mishustin said. The share of the so-called “backbone” countries in this sphere has doubled over the last three years, to 80% in the first half of 2025, he noted. "The weight of different countries in the global economy continues to shift. The contribution of the Global South and East, primarily the BRICS countries, is growing, while the G7's share is declining," Mr. Mishustin was quoted as saying by Rossiya-24 channel. Russia continues to actively develop bilateral trade using the roubles and the national currencies of partner countries: from January to October, their share in trade turnover with all countries reached 85%, according to Mr. Mishustin. "The transition to settlements in national currencies continues. Over the past 10 months, their share in trade turnover with all countries has reached 85%. Here, too, we're ahead of our previously set target of 70%. And roubles account for over half of all settlement transactions," he said. Published - January 21, 2026 02:16 am IST Russia / India / trade balance / trade agreements / international (foreign) trade Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

India among Russia's top foreign trade partners: PM Mishustin

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India among Russia's top foreign trade partners: PM Mishustin

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