Modi, Putin and a $100-Billion Ambition: Trade Takes the Wheel Ahead of BRICS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin took their trade diplomacy on the road on Friday, sharing a car to Bharat Mandapam after bilateral talks in which the ambition to lift India-Russia trade to $100 billion by 2030 figured, according to sources.

Their destination was INNOPROM, the international industrial exhibition bringing manufacturers, buyers and technology businesses together in New Delhi. Coming a day before the formal opening of the 18th BRICS Summit, the joint visit put industrial cooperation at the centre of the two leaders’ engagements.

The commercial task is substantial. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal put current bilateral trade at around $60 billion, leaving nearly $40 billion to be added over the next four years to reach the target.

Addressing the INNOPROM India 2026 Co-Chair Plenary Session alongside Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov, Goyal called for an accelerated economic and industrial partnership. Achieving the goal, he said, would require sustained double-digit annual growth and a concerted effort by businesses in both countries.

Modi and Putin’s visit to the exhibition brought that appeal into focus: turning the trade ambition into business relationships, industrial projects and wider market access.

Building the Business Behind the Target

According to sources, INNOPROM’s role in expanding industrial engagement also featured in the leaders’ discussions.

The exhibition offers opportunities for closer cooperation in railways and tunnelling, development of the steel value chain, more business-to-business partnerships and broader access to the Russian market.

As a platform connecting manufacturers with buyers, INNOPROM allows companies to showcase technologies, explore international markets and identify commercial partners. Its presence in India gives businesses from the two countries another avenue to pursue the growth their governments are seeking.

The potential areas of cooperation extend well beyond the exhibition floor. Ahead of the talks, sources had identified civil nuclear cooperation, including fuel-cycle and life-cycle support, among the expected subjects.

Other anticipated areas included critical minerals, mobility, opportunities for more skilled Indian workers in Russia and stronger fertiliser cooperation through strategic joint ventures.

These were outlined as areas for discussion; the reports did not announce concluded agreements in these sectors.

A Tamil Classic, in Russian

Alongside the economic agenda came a gift rooted in India’s literary heritage.

During their meeting, Modi presented Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, the classical Tamil work composed by Thiruvalluvar. He said the translation could deepen people-to-people contact and help strengthen bilateral relations.

“Two thousand years ago, Thiruvalluvar wrote the Thirukkural. It includes the entire gamut of human life,” Modi told Putin.

In a subsequent post on X, he wrote: “Presented President Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders.”

The work comprises 1,330 couplets exploring virtue, wealth and statecraft, and love. The gift introduced a cultural dimension to a day dominated by commerce and industrial cooperation.

Following their talks, the leaders travelled together to Bharat Mandapam and visited INNOPROM.

From Bilateral Talks to the BRICS Stage

Putin arrived in New Delhi earlier on Friday and was welcomed by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.

He was scheduled to address the BRICS Business Forum later in the day. According to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, he was expected to present initiatives covering trade, economic, investment and transport cooperation.

The engagements precede the September 12–13 leaders’ summit, being held under India’s chairship and the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

For India and Russia, Friday’s discussions gave that broad agenda a measurable ambition: lifting bilateral trade from around $60 billion to $100 billion by 2030. The exhibition visit placed the businesses expected to help deliver that increase at the heart of the day’s diplomacy.

With inputs from ANI