At an annual bilateral summit focused on the future of trade cooperation, beyond geopolitics, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a roadmap that works to strengthen trade relations between the two powers, despite European sanctions and US tariffs.
De-dollarization
The Russian President said in a statement in New Delhi, “Our countries are gradually moving towards using national currencies in payments. Participation has already reached 96% in commercial payments,” stressing that the dollar has been practically excluded from bilateral exchange to avoid the impact of sanctions.
Current sales are worth about $64 billion, driven by massive energy purchases, but Putin urged “we should be up to the task” to raise that figure to $100 billion.
Cooperation program until 2030, and negotiations on a free trade agreement
To achieve this, the two leaders agreed on a cooperation program until 2030 and accelerate negotiations on a free trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union.
The agreement includes a shift in technology transfer, and in this sense Putin announced the construction of a large pharmaceutical factory in Russia that uses “advanced technology from India,” which could reduce Russia’s dependence on Western medicines, which reflects the traditional role where Moscow used to be the sole technological supplier.
Military cooperation and assistance in the BRICS presidency
On the military level, the Kremlin President noted that Russia has been helping to arm and modernize the Indian army for half a century, and expressed his satisfaction with the results of the defense negotiations held today, which deepen the strategic partnership.
Putin also offered all necessary assistance to India, which will assume the presidency of the BRICS group next year, and highlighted the joint work between the two countries as founders to increase the organization’s authority globally.
Confronted with this set of agreements, Prime Minister Modi resorted to a metaphor to define the relationship’s resilience in the face of geopolitical pressures over the past 80 years: “The India-Russia relationship has been like a stable North Star. This relationship, based on deep trust and respect, has stood the test of time,” the Indian leader said.
Diplomatic balance on Ukraine
This alliance defies the warnings of the United States and the European Union, which accuse New Delhi of providing financial support to the Russian war machine.
India did not explicitly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It became the second largest buyer of Russian crude, saving billions of dollars and providing an export market for Moscow, which was isolated due to sanctions from its traditional buyers in Europe. But try not to provoke Trump during the ongoing tariff negotiations.
US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian goods in August, citing New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil, revenues that Washington says help finance the war in Ukraine.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the beginning of the day: “In recent days, every time I spoke with leaders of the global community and we discussed this issue in detail, I always said that India is not neutral. India has a clear position, and this position is pro-peace. We support all efforts to achieve peace.”
“Since the Ukrainian crisis started, we have been in constant discussion. And from time to time, you too, as a true friend, have kept us informed of everything. I believe trust is a great force,” Modi added.
Putin responded to his host’s words by emphasizing that Moscow seeks a negotiated solution to the conflict. He added: “I shared the details of the conflict in detail. We are working to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.”
rml (efe, afp, ap, updated at 12:00 CET)