Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July, the two countries signed the India-Russia Cooperation Programme in Trade, Economic and Investment Spheres in the Russian Far East for 2024-2029, as well as the Principles for Cooperation in the Russian Arctic Region.
"First and foremost, these are transport links and the establishment of direct sea links between the Far East and the Indian coast. The trade turnover between the ports of the Far East and India exceeds one billion dollars, excluding oil and special-purpose goods. Therefore, the logistical aspect of this agreement is very important; it allows for the development of trade between the Far East and India, as well as the countries of Southeast Asia as a whole," Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic, told Sputnik.
He further said that work is being done to include countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia in the routes between Russia-India as part of intermediate stops.
According to Chekunkov, currently the Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) is actively working on this and the Indian side is also very involved in this work.
Speaking about ice-class ships, Chekunkov said, "We will also continue to explore opportunities for joint construction of ships at Indian shipyards. We hope that progress can be made on this issue at the upcoming Eastern Economic Forum ."