BRICS 2026: PM Modi sits down with Putin, talks $100 bn trade by 2030; Plan to deepen defence, energy, nuclear ties

New Delhi: India and Russia on Friday agreed to expand industrial collaboration across manufacturing, railways, nuclear energy and critical minerals as they work towards a $100-billion bilateral trade target by 2030. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin also reviewed the progress of defence and energy cooperation at their second bilateral meeting in less than a fortnight.

The two leaders discussed steps to boost the Make in India initiative, reduce trade gap and improve skilled worker mobility, besides the Ukraine and West Asia conflicts, people familiar with the matter said.

Russia has pitched the Su-57 fighter jet to India with technology transfer and local production under Make in India initiative. Moscow has also pitched long-range missiles, drones and anti-drone technology.


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The two sides are also discussing joint energy projects. Russia remains India's largest supplier of crude, the people said.

It was Modi's first engagement of the 18th BRICS Summit held under New Delhi's presidency. He gifted Putin a Russian translation of Thirukkural, the celebrated Tamil classic by poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar at the start of the meeting held at Bharat Mandapam. Putin invited Modi to visit Russia for the 24th India-Russia Annual Summit, which is expected to be held in December. The Prime Minister has accepted the invite.

A key focus of the meeting was expanding industrial cooperation, including collaboration in rail sector and tunnelling, developing steel value chain, creating business-to-business opportunities and broadening Indian exporters' access to the Russian market, people cited above said.

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Modi and Putin also toured the three-day Innoprom.India expo at Bharat Mandapam.

Second Russia-made N-Plant

Russian and Indian companies have showcased technologies and investment opportunities at the expo in areas including AI, aviation, space, nuclear energy, heavy engineering, mining and banking with an aim to strengthen bilateral ties.

The leaders discussed steps to strengthen civil nuclear cooperation, including fuel cycle and life cycle support. It is understood that India and Russia are in talks for a second site for Russian constructed nuclear power plants besides setting up small and modular reactors (SMRs).

The meeting covered cooperation in critical minerals. The two countries may sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as India eyes to secure critical minerals and rare earths from resource-rich Russia and process them here to boost green energy, including electric vehicles and semiconductor industries, people cited above said.

The two leaders also discussed Arctic cooperation and connectivity initiatives. Increasing mobility of Indian skilled labour and professionals to Russia was also on the agenda.

Sustaining and increasing cooperation in fertilisers through strategic joint venture projects was also discussed as Russia has emerged as India's number one fertiliser supplier.

In the defence sector, the two sides are finalising supply of the next batch of five S-400 missile defence systems from Russia to India. The existing S-400 systems played a critical role during Operation Sindoor.

The leaders exchanged views on India-Russia engagement in the multilateral sphere, in particular in BRICS.

They also shared perspectives on key regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region, which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers, an official said. Modi reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy was the way forward in resolving conflicts and India stood ready to assist in peace efforts.

"The two leaders agreed to remain engaged in an effort to strengthen further the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries, which continues to register significant growth and has shown resilience in the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties." The external affairs ministry said in a statement.

Bilateral Investment Treaty

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and Russia are fast-tracking a new bilateral investment treaty to give investors the legal certainty they need for making investment decisions.

Speaking at the plenary session of Innoprom.India on Thursday, Goyal said local currency settlement mechanisms are being strengthened to speed up trade transactions.

Addressing the session, Russian minister of industry and trade Anton Alikhanov said a major effort is being made to sell Russian civilian planes to India and organise their local production, especially the SJ-100 regional jet. This includes creating maintenance facilities and training Indian specialists.

Alikhanov said special attention is being paid to technical cooperation, with railways a priority. He said an initiative for the joint production of Vande Bharat trains was being implemented, including modernising production facilities, setting up an engineering centre and training Indian specialists. Vande Bharat trains are indigenously developed semi-high-speed trainsets operated by Indian Railways.

Goyal urged Alikhanov to facilitate greater Indian investment in pharmaceuticals, IT, AI, services, engineering and railways in Russia as the two countries work towards a $50-billion bilateral investment target.