‘There are issues…like trade imbalance’: S Jaishankar on PM Modi’s Russia visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Russia visit is a great opportunity for him and the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, to hold direct talks on a host of issues including trade, said external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Sunday.

S Jaishankar pointed out that certain issues between India and Russia need resolution.

“There are issues…like the trade imbalance…So, at a leadership level, it will be a great opportunity for Prime Minister Modi and President Putin to sit down and directly talk to each other. And then obviously, as per their directions, we will see how to take the relationship forward,” he said.

He said both India and Russia value the need for an annual summit between the two countries.

“Now, this was a tradition. It’s a good tradition. We are two countries that have such a strong and very steady history of working together. So both of us value very much the need for an annual summit,” he told ANI.

“Even last year, I went to Moscow at the end of the year, and at that time, I carried a message from the prime minister that we are committed to the annual summit, and we will do it sooner rather than later,” he added.

India-Russia annual summit after three years

PM Modi will head to Russia on July 8. He was invited by Putin for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

The Summit will take place after a gap of three years.

The 21st bilateral Summit was held in December 2021 when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited New Delhi.

PM Modi is expected to discuss issues of regional and global importance with Putin.

Meanwhile, India’s ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit “very significant”.

“Russia is now one of the very important sources of energy resources in India. Also, trade has expanded in other areas. So this visit becomes very important for the leaders to exchange views on all these developments in the bilateral relationship, but also other regional and international issues of mutual interest,” he said.

What will PM Modi do in Russia?

PM Modi will be in Moscow on July 8 and July 9.

“PM Modi’s program includes a private meeting with President Putin, delegation-level talks, restricted talks, lunch hosted by President Putin for the Prime Minister and his delegation, visit to an exhibition centre in the VDNKH Complex, Rosatom Pavilion, and also exchange of documents which we are preparing to sign and exchange during the visit,” the official said.

PM Modi will also address a gathering of Indian diaspora.

He said the two leaders will discuss global issues, including the Ukraine-Russia war.

He said the India-Russia trade has crossed 65 billion dollars but there is a trade imbalance in favour of Moscow.

“Trade, as I was mentioning, in the last three years, trade has expanded, crossed USD 65 billion. We have two challenges. One is to balance the trade because trade is very heavily in favour of the Russian side. So expanding India’s trade basket, export items, and also increase in the quantity to better balance the trade, while at the same time finding ways and means to sustain this growth in bilateral trade,” he said.

“We are looking at new items, including agricultural products to export to Russia, ceramic tiles, auto components and engineering goods, chemical products, of course, pharmaceuticals has been one of the traditional areas, products that we have exported to Russia. We want to increase their volume and also add new items to the trade basket,” he added.