India and Russia are working to achieve $100 billion in bilateral trade and $50 billion in two-way investments by 2030, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, as the two partners fast-track negotiations for a new bilateral investment treaty (BIT).
He was speaking at the India-Russia Business Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi where his Russian counterpart Anton Alikhanov was also present. Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, said the bank had been present in India for more than 14 years and was able to process bilateral payments quickly. Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank, with more than 110 million retail clients and 3.5 million corporate customers.
Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi , he said, “The greatest strength of India-Russia relation lies in trust” and reiterated the goal the Leaders of the two-country set to achieve by 2030. India raised the issue of huge trade deficit with Russia and ways to bridge the gap by increasing Indian exports of goods such as agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and textiles, a government official said, requesting anonymity. “Now, I can say that there are almost no barriers for bilateral trade between Russia and India,” he said, adding that the system facilitates payments in the respective national currencies. CII president R Mukundan said India, as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies with strong macroeconomic fundamentals, could become a major investment destination for Russian manufacturing. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, chairman of Sun International, said Russia had been India’s “most dependable” defence partner for decades.
The two ministers were addressing the valedictory session of the India-Russia Business Dialogue after a bilateral meeting.
