Piyush Goyal to Attend Key BRICS Trade Ministers' Meeting in Moscow

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will attend the BRICS trade ministers' meeting in Moscow on July 26. BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. India aims to boost exports to Russia, targeting $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030, focusing on sectors like electronics and pharmaceuticals.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is set to participate in the BRICS trade ministers' meeting scheduled for July 26 in Moscow, an official announced on Friday.

BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, represents a significant bloc of emerging economies, covering over 40% of the world population and accounting for more than 16% of global trade.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia from July 8-9, India and Russia established an ambitious bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030, focusing on sectors such as electronics and removing non-trade barriers to enhance exports to a sanction-impacted Russia.

Currently, bilateral trade between the countries amounts to approximately USD 67 billion. India aims to increase exports in categories such as electronics and engineering while addressing issues faced by marine and pharma exporters to Russia.

India's export portfolio to Russia includes diverse products such as smartphones, shrimp, medicine, meat, tiles, coffee, aircraft parts, chemicals, computers, and fruits. In contrast, India's imports from Russia are primarily oil and petroleum products, fertilizers, mineral resources, precious stones and metals, and vegetable oils.

In the fiscal year 2023-24, India's exports to Russia stood at USD 4.26 billion, with imports amounting to USD 61.43 billion, heavily favoring Russia due to crude oil imports.

A report by think tank GTRI suggests that measures like increasing exports, facilitating local currency trading, and establishing a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union could bolster trade between India and Russia.