Amid Trump’s tariff threats, India urges Russian companies to engage ‘more intensively’

As India's relations with the United States nosedived after President Donald Trump's announcement of a 50 per cent tariff, New Delhi is looking to increase bilateral trade with Russia.

 

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who is in Moscow on a state visit, urged Russian companies to engage “more intensively” with their Indian counterparts.

 

"An India with a GDP of USD 4 trillion plus growing at 7% for the foreseeable future has an obvious need for large resources from dependable sources. In some cases, it could be assured supplies of essential products, fertiliser, chemicals, and machinery, being good examples,” Jaishankar said, adding that India’s rapidly growing infrastructure would offer business openings to enterprises with an established track record.

 

The EAM made the remarks at a meeting with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow. He said the Indian government’s initiatives like ‘Make in India’ have opened a new window for foreign businesses.

 

“The modernisation and the urbanisation of India generate their own demands, flowing from shifts in consumption and lifestyle. Each of these dimensions represents an invitation for Russian companies to engage more intensively with their Indian counterparts. Our endeavour is to encourage them to rise to that challenge," said the minister.

 

He further noted that both India and Russia should continuously diversify and expand their "agenda" of cooperation, including by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and through more joint ventures.

 

"The various working groups and subgroups could perhaps take a more creative and innovative approach towards their respective agendas. The challenges posed by the larger landscape that I mentioned require us to do so," he said while stressing the importance of India-Russia ties in the context of current geopolitical upheaval.

 

Jaishankar’s remarks came in the backdrop of a downturn in relations between India and the US after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for New Delhi’s purchase of Russian crude oil.

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