India, Russia agree to unlock full potential of bilateral trade, address niggling issues

New Delhi, Mar 6 : India and Russia on Monday agreed to work together to unlock the full potential of their bilateral trade and economic relations including through addressing the trade deficit and market access issues, at a virtual meeting co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here today. EAM Jaishankar co-chaired a virtual meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural cooperation with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
EAM in a tweet said that during the meeting he noted the expansion of trade and discussed trade deficit and market access issues. “Pleased to co-chair a virtual meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural cooperation with DPM Denis Manturov.
“Noted the expansion of trade and discussed trade deficit and market access issues.” An official statement said that EAM Jaishankar held a virtual meeting with Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Minister of Trade and Industry, and Co-chair of the India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).
The Co-chairs reviewed the progress achieved in the various Working Group and Sub-Group Meetings under the IRIGC-TEC framework since their meeting in Moscow in November 2022 and gave guidance to prepare ground for the next in-person meeting of IRIGC-TEC which will be held in New Delhi at mutually convenient dates. The two sides agreed to work together to unlock the full potential of India-Russia bilateral trade and economic relations including through addressing the trade deficit and market access issues, it said. The Inter-governmental Commission is a mechanism for regularly monitoring bilateral progress across the sectors of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries which was set up by an Agreement on inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation signed in May 1992. The first session of IRIGC was held on September 13 and 14, 1994. So far, 23 IRIGC meetings have been held. The 23rd Session of IRIGC was held on September 14, 2018 in Moscow. The 24th IRIGC-TEC meeting will be hosted by India and today’s review meeting will pave the way for the same, it added.