Moscow: India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the two sides reviewing economic ties and cooperation in key sectors including trade, energy, fertilisers and nuclear power.
Jaishankar arrived in Moscow for a two-day visit ahead of Putin’s expected trip to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit next month. The visit comes as India and Russia seek to deepen economic engagement and expand bilateral cooperation.
Jaishankar said that the two countries had held a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission earlier in the day and described the assessment of economic cooperation as positive.
“Our economic cooperation, trade, energy, fertilisers, nuclear, other dimensions as well — I would be pleased to speak about it in detail. Overall, I think our economic cooperation has grown very significantly,” he added.
Putin emphasized that Russia was increasing fertiliser supplies to India and was prepared to continue meeting the requirements of Indian farmers and the agricultural sector.
The Russian president also noted that bilateral trade had increased this year after declining slightly in the previous year. He said cooperation between the two countries covered virtually all areas, involving governments, parliaments and businesses.
Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings and a personal message to Putin. He said Modi looked forward to meeting him at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and welcoming him to India for the BRICS Summit.
The 2026 SCO summit is scheduled for August 31-September 1 in Kyrgyzstan, while the BRICS Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12-13.
Pleased to call on President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Moscow today. Handed over a personal message from Prime Minister @narendramodi.
Briefed him on the deliberation held under the 27th IRIGC-TEC, reviewing our cooperation across a wide range of domains. Value his guidance… pic.twitter.com/jAWTLqUrEp
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 24, 2026
Earlier, Jaishankar held talks with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Speaking at the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, Jaishankar said bilateral goods trade had increased nearly fourfold over five years, rising from about $13 billion in 2021-22 to nearly $60 billion in 2025-26.
However, he highlighted the widening trade imbalance, which increased from $6.6 billion to more than $50 billion during the same period.
“Addressing this imbalance is today one of our foremost priorities,” Jaishankar said, stressing the need for greater market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, stronger payment mechanisms and increased business-to-business engagement.
India and Russia have set a target of raising bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. Jaishankar is also scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues.
The two ministers last met in Manila on July 22 on the sidelines of ASEAN-related meetings, where they reviewed bilateral ties and exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict and developments in West Asia.
