Rusia-India Ties: Russian President Vladimir Putin is in India for the twenty third India-Russia Annual Summit, and all eyes are on the strategic and financial negotiations unfolding throughout his two-day go to, which is able to finish on December 5. This assembly has drawn world consideration, significantly from the US, which is carefully monitoring the interactions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin.
Analysts and enterprise leaders count on a number of main agreements to be finalised throughout this summit. India and Russia already share a commerce relationship, presently valued at $68 billion, masking sectors starting from crude oil, fertilisers, minerals and treasured stones to vegetable oils, protection merchandise, equipment, prescription drugs, electronics and chemical compounds.
Over the previous 5 years, this bilateral commerce has greater than quintupled, surging from $13 billion in 2021 to $68 billion in 2024-25. It’s largely pushed by rising imports of protection gear, oil and fertilisers into India, together with elevated pharmaceutical exports from India to Russia.
The historical past of India-Russia commerce is much older than these trendy numbers counsel. Business hyperlinks between the 2 nations hint again to the sixteenth century, when Indian items first reached Russian markets on a big scale.
In the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Russia imported primarily luxurious objects and spices from India. Among the many earliest commodities to cross borders had been black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and different unique spices. Indian textiles, together with silk and cotton materials, had been extremely prized for his or her high quality and luxurious enchantment. Treasured stones, jewellery and indigo dye additionally discovered a prepared market amongst Russian elites.
Historic information point out that between 1550 and 1600, Russian retailers and envoys sought Indian items from numerous areas of the subcontinent. At the moment, India was dominated by kings and maharajas who oversaw wealthy manufacturing centres. Russia’s harsh local weather made Indian spices extremely valued for preserving and flavoring meals over lengthy winters.
Extremely coveted in Russia and throughout Europe, Indian silks and cottons grew to become symbols of wealth and class. Commerce was not one-sided. India, in flip, imported important and luxurious objects from Russia.
Northern Russia’s furs, famend for heat and high quality, had been in excessive demand amongst Indian royalty and merchants. As well as, early commerce included Russian arms, metals, timber and amber, all of which contributed to a thriving change that laid the muse for hundreds of years of financial partnership.
From this historic starting of spices, textiles and furs, India and Russia have advanced into strategic companions whose relationship now spans power, protection and cutting-edge expertise.
At present, the ties between the 2 nations are stronger than ever, reflecting a journey that started with an change of luxurious items and has grown right into a multifaceted partnership price billions of {dollars}.