Increasing bilateral trade and addressing the imbalance in trade between the two countries will be a focus area of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31-September 1.
The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday that a meeting between Modi and Putin has been confirmed. At the SCO Summit in Bishkek, Modi will also hold meetings with other leaders, and a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely.
The discussions between Modi and Putin will build on the 27th session of the India-Russia Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, held in Moscow earlier this week between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, officials said.
During his meeting with Jaishankar, the Russian President expressed Moscow’s willingness to increase its fertiliser supplies to India’s agricultural sector. At his meeting with Manturov, the External Affairs Minister noted that the increase in India-Russia bilateral trade from $13 billion in 2021 to $60 billion in 2025 has widened the trade imbalance, which grew from $6.6 billion to over $50 billion in Russia’s favour. “Addressing this imbalance is today one of our foremost priorities,” Jaishankar said. He said progress on market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, strengthening payment mechanisms and stronger business-to-business engagement would be critical to addressing the imbalance and achieving the shared objective of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
Before reaching Bishkek, the PM will visit Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on August 29-30. India and Uzbekistan are keen to increase their bilateral trade, which is currently at an underwhelming $1.32 billion. India is among the top 10 trade partners of Uzbekistan.
The two sides will discuss issues related to trade access and tariffs and could sign an agreement on cooperation in critical minerals. Over 16,300 Indian students study in Uzbekistan, mostly medicine. The number of Indians visiting Uzbekistan increased from 45,500 in 2023 to 80,800 in 2025.
During their discussions in Tashkent, Modi and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev would review cooperation in trade and investment, defence, digital connectivity, energy, and education.
At the SCO Summit in Bishkek, the PM will highlight India’s priorities of security, connectivity and opportunity in his address. The summit marks the 25th anniversary of the SCO, of which India has been a full member since 2017.
