Russia’s trade with India and Global South hits $299 bn – PM

Russia is redirecting trade away from Europe and the United States toward India, China, and other Global South markets, with friendly countries now accounting for 85% of its foreign trade, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has said.

Trade with these partners reached around $299 billion (25 trillion rubles) in the first half of 2026, while Russian exports rose 15% year-on-year, Mishustin said in a video address to the Moscow Financial Forum on Monday.

“Trade with Europe and the United States is being reoriented toward the markets of China, India, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East,” he said.

The shift extends beyond commodities and energy, Moscow’s biggest exports. Russia’s non-resource and non-energy exports to countries it considers friendly increased 11% in the first half of the year, according to the prime minister.

Russia’s overall non-commodity and non-energy exports reached $58.8 billion in January-June, up 3% from a year earlier, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said earlier this month. Chemicals, fertilizers, metals, and pharmaceuticals were among the sectors that recorded growth.

India has emerged as an important part of Moscow’s trade expansion effort. Bilateral trade currently hovers around $60 billion annually, with New Delhi and Moscow targeting $100 billion in annual trade and $50 billion in two-way investments by 2030.

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this month that higher Indian exports of pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, chemicals, textiles, food products, marine products, and auto components would be central to increasing and rebalancing bilateral trade.

The push received fresh impetus when Russian President Vladimir Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit earlier this month. The leaders reviewed economic cooperation and discussed closer trade ties.

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Modi and Putin also visited INNOPROM India, an international trade fair held in New Delhi from September 9-11, and highlighted its role in expanding bilateral trade and industrial ties.

India and Russia are strengthening national and local currency settlement mechanisms and developing transport links, including the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor. India and the Eurasian Economic Union have also launched formal negotiations on a free trade agreement.