India and Russia want to sign a free trade agreement to strengthen bilateral trade ties and increase mutual investment. Discussions on this matter have also started at the ministerial level of the two countries in the capital of India, New Delhi.

On the other hand, Russia, the world's largest country, is rich in minerals and other resources. Russia's agricultural, industrial and other infrastructure conditions are similar to those of developed countries in Europe.

On the other hand, India, the largest country in South Asia, is one of the world's emerging economies, and is also the single largest market in the world. The country has a huge market of about one and a half billion people.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam (S.) Jaishankar and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov met in New Delhi on Monday. In a briefing after the meeting, Jaishankar told reporters that both India and Russia want to increase mutual investment in the two countries. This matter will be much easier if the free trade agreement is signed and he is discussing with the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia about this agreement.

India's trade relations with Russia are very old. This relationship started after the independence of India from the British colonial rule in 1947. From that time, the then Soviet Union started exporting arms and military equipment to India.

Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, this trade relationship remained intact. Russia is still India's largest arms exporter.

India, the most important partner of the US in the South Asian region, has so far not publicly uttered a word against Russia, despite the US and its European allies imposing economic sanctions against Russia after Russia launched a 'special military operation' in Ukraine in February 2022. India has not even voted for any of the resolutions passed in the United Nations condemning Russia.

Rather, the war strengthened trade relations between Russia and India. Apart from military equipment, Russia is now India's largest supplier of fuel oil. Until this war, Iraq was India's top oil exporter.

Denis Manturov was also present at Monday's briefing in New Delhi. He said, 'We want to make products according to the preferences of Indian consumers and release them in the Indian market; And for this, there is a need to have a broad cooperative relationship between the two countries.

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