New Delhi : The Russia–India Forum will be held in New Delhi on December 4-5, 2025. The Forum’s motto is “The Power of Partnership is in the Unity of Purpose. Export to Russia.” The event is being co-organized by the Roscongress Foundation and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The central event of the Russia–India Forum will be a plenary session dedicated to the potential for mutual trade and opportunities for Indian suppliers to expand their access to the Russian market. It will be attended by heads of ministries and agencies, as well as leading companies from both countries.
“Russia and India are bound by decades of friendship and mutual trust. Indian culture, both traditional and modern, and Indian national brands are well known and beloved in Russia. It is important to leverage these historical ties to increase imports of Indian goods and services into our country, as their current presence in the Russian market clearly falls short of the enormous potential of India’s manufacturing, agriculture, and IT sectors. The Russia–India Forum, which will be held in Delhi, aims to boost the entry of Indian goods into the Russian market, which will also help offset the current imbalance in mutual trade. “Russian retail chains, e-commerce platforms, and engineering companies will have the opportunity to establish direct ties with Indian manufacturers and exporters,” noted Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation.
The main topic of the upcoming Forum will be trade and economic relations between Russia and India. “India is one of Russia’s key partners. Over the past five years, mutual trade volumes have increased almost sevenfold. By the end of 2024, India ranked second among our country’s trading partners. Such strong performance confirms the strengthening of the strategic partnership and the diversification of trade ties between the two countries, including increased supplies of agricultural products and energy resources. “The Indian market is increasingly attracting interest from Russian businesses today: it is large, rapidly growing, and strategically important for our country. This is one of the goals of the upcoming Forum: to send a clear signal that our country is ready to purchase Indian goods and services,” noted Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation.
Forum participants will also discuss the role of banking institutions in strengthening cooperation. “The foundation for growing business ties between Russia and India is a reliable and sustainable financial infrastructure that can support rapidly growing trade turnover. VTB Bank, which this year celebrates 20 years of operations in the Indian market, has become a key financial partner for businesses in both countries. We will continue to expand our presence in India by opening new offices and ensuring high-quality and fast service for our clients,” emphasized Andrey Kostin, President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank.
The Forum program will include a series of panel discussions dedicated to various areas of Russian-Indian cooperation: expanding Indian engineering products into the Russian market, increasing Russia’s purchases of Indian food products, the potential for growth in the mutual provision of digital services, increasing Russia’s purchases of Indian pharmaceuticals, and cooperation in the field of migration.
“India and Russia have stood by each other for decades, and that trust is now opening new doors for our industries. With both governments working towards an ambitious trade target for 2030, this is the right moment for our businesses to step forward and shape the next phase of our economic partnership. The upcoming Russia–India Forum in New Delhi comes at a very meaningful time. Whether it is manufacturing, technology, agriculture, or services, Indian enterprises have so much to offer, and our Russian partners are actively looking to engage. As FICCI, we see this Forum as an opportunity to convert long-standing goodwill into real outcomes. Our goal is simple: make it easier for Indian products to reach Russian shelves, help our companies enter new sectors, and support a more balanced, future-ready relationship between our two economies,“ affirmed Mr Anant Goenka, President Elect, FICCI & Vice Chairman, RPG Group.
