India and Russia plan to strengthen economic cooperation in the coming decades.

The areas under focus include Indian pharmaceutical plants in Russia, long-term leasing of agricultural land in Russia’s Far East, export of automobile components from India and entry of new Indian textile players in Russia.

The list also includes heavy engineering under the Make in India initiative, investments by leading Indian IT firms in Russian tech parks, entering the infrastructure market in Russia, collaboration in mining and metallurgy sector, and joint collaboration in the Arctic sector.

Indian pharmaceutical companies are looking at the possibility of setting up plants in Russia.

Agriculture and food processing sector is one of the emerging areas of cooperation. There is considerable demand for import of agricultural products, mainly fresh vegetables and fruits from India. One of the reasons for the inability of Indian exporters to cater to this demand is the logistics. One solution proposed could be direct long-term contracts between major supermarket chains in Russia and major exporters from India who can deliver on time, maintain quality of packaging and phytosanitary standards.

Heavy engineering is another promising area for mutually beneficial cooperation, not only in terms of trade, but also for joint ventures and technology transfer. Russia is looking for collaboration with Indian companies for developing IT parks for software development and is ready to provide facilities to Indian companies interested in creating their IT base in Russia.