Russia to bring flagship INNOPROM industrial fair to India in September

New Delhi: Russia's international industrial trade fair, INNOPROM, will be held in India for the first time from September 9 to 11, ahead of the Brics Summit, with a focus on expanding industrial cooperation.

The India edition of INNOPROM will serve as a platform to strengthen bilateral trade, industrial collaboration and investment, with a focus on pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering, chemicals, critical minerals, metallurgy, advanced manufacturing and skilled workforce mobility, according to people aware of the matter.

Russia's first deputy prime minister Denis Manturov, who oversees economic cooperation with India, is expected to participate in the event. The fair is also expected to advance decisions taken at the India-Russia Business Forum held in New Delhi in December 2025 during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the people cited above said.


The two countries are also working on a bilateral investment protection treaty amid the prospect of higher investments and more joint projects, the person said.

Speaking at Russia's annual INNOPROM exhibition last week, India's ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar identified green energy, critical minerals and rare earths, information technology, food processing, industrial automation and the agro-industrial sector as key areas for expanding bilateral cooperation. He also said the two countries are discussing cooperation in the biochemical industry and may develop a joint strategy for the sector.

Kumar said India and Russia are also working to remove non-tariff barriers, particularly for agriculture and food products. Based on trade trends over the past three months, the two countries are likely to achieve bilateral trade of $70 billion in the current 2026-27 financial year, he said. India and Russia have set a target of $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

India and the Eurasian Economic Union have also made progress in discussions on a free trade agreement. The second round of talks was held in Moscow late last month, Kumar said at the exhibition.

Earlier this month, the India-Russia Joint Working Group on Priority Investment Projects, co-chaired by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia and Russia's deputy minister of economic development Vladimir Ilyichev, met in Moscow. The two sides agreed to encourage private companies to explore opportunities in both countries and promote joint projects in advanced manufacturing, green hydrogen, energy storage, metallurgy, mining, critical minerals and emerging technologies.