Stating that Russia is India’s ‘sukh dukh ka saathi’, commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said both the nations are targeting bilateral trade of over $100 billion by 2030, up from about $70 billion at present.

“Russia has always been ‘India’s Sukh Dukh Ka Saathi’- a companion in both good times and difficult times. India-Russia trade has made remarkable strides, with volumes nearing $70 billion, yet immense potential remains untapped, as India’s share in Russia’s imports is still under 2% - a figure that does not capture the true ambition of our partnership,” Goyal said at the India-Russia Business Forum held today in New Delhi.

“Our shared focus is to foster more balanced and mutually rewarding trade, aiming to exceed $100 billion by 2030, driven by stronger Indian exports,” Goyal said.  Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, Maxim Oreshkin, was the keynote speaker at the event.

Recalling the first summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin in 2014, Goyal said the two leaders had set a target of achieving $30 billion in bilateral trade by 2025. “That target has already been achieved and, in fact, India and Russia today have twice that level of trade. While reaching $70 billion is a significant milestone, the current pattern of trade needs to be more balanced,” he said.

Goyal noted that India can fulfill Russia’s strong demand for a wide range of industrial goods and consumer products. “This will create substantial opportunities for Indian businesses. Several sectors already show clear potential, including automobiles, tractors, heavy commercial vehicles, electronics, smartphones, data-processing equipment, heavy machinery, industrial components, textiles and food products. These segments represent areas where India can significantly increase its presence in the Russian market,” Goyal said.

Goyal said that India is poised to grow from a $4 trillion economy today to $30–35 trillion by 2047, when the nation celebrates 100 years of independence. Highlighting India’s successful navigation of global headwinds, including the pandemic, geopolitical tensions and supply shocks, Goyal pointed out that India is now among the world’s top five economies, soon to become the third-largest.

“Inflation remains low, with the consumer price index at 0.25% last month and expected to remain between 2–2.5% over the year. India’s growth estimates for the current year have been consistently revised upwards, with GDP expanding 7.8% in Q1 and 8.2% in Q2,” he said.