India, Russia to bolster trade ties despite Trump's ire over oil purchases

[handshake on India and Russia flag background.]
Igor Vershinsky/iStock via Getty Images

India and Russia have committed to deepen bilateral trade ties, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs on the South Asian country for ramping up purchases of Russian oil.

India and Russia have set a bilateral trade target of $100B by 2030. Bilateral trade reached a record $68.7B in FY 2024-25, with a $58.9B trade deficit as a result of India's increased imports of Russian oil.

During a visit to Moscow, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India would increase its exports to Russia in pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles to help correct the trade imbalance.

"Indian skilled workers, especially in IT, construction, and engineering, can address the labor needs in Russia," he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector and Russian oil shipments to the Indian market is making wide strides. "Both sides are interested in implementing joint energy production projects in the Russian Far East and the Russian Arctic shelf, among other sites."

As for Trump's tariffs, Jaishankar said India was "perplexed" at the rationale for the move. "The Americans actually said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilize the world energy markets, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from America. And that amount has been increasing."

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