The two leaders are also expected to initiate a process to allow the use of national currencies by tourists and students, ET has learnt. This will include the use of RuPay cards in Russia and MiR cards in India, according to persons familiar with the matter.
While 60% of India-Russia trade is currently in national currencies, the need for real-time and faster payment in the absence of SWIFT has been felt. It is in this context that Modi and Putin are expected to focus on creating a special mechanism, said the people cited above.
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Financial Telecommunications) is the channel through which cross-border bank transactions typically take place.
Trade between India and Russia stood at $65.7 billion in the financial year ended March, up 33% from the previous year. The two sides are seeking to make progress on a bilateral investment treaty as well as signing a free trade agreement with the Moscowled Eurasian Economic Union.
Plans are in the pipeline to increase exports from India to Russia across sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and services.
Restricted format meeting:
Certain sectors in Russia are not sanctioned by the West. However, sectors associated with electronics that are in demand in Russia are under the scanner of western governments.
A big push is expected on increasing the Indian presence in the Russian far east that is endowed with energy resources and minerals with the Chennai-Vladivostok route being utilised. Sources indicated an Indian announcement on this cannot be ruled out as part of the Act Far East Policy. Russia is expecting Indian companies to invest heavily in the region, having already done so in the energy sector there.
In 2019, Modi was chief guest at the Russia Eastern Economic Forum. India had announced a $1 billion line of credit on that occasion.
The highlight of the July 8-9 visit will be a private dinner that Putin will host for Modi on Monday in the Kremlin, underscoring their personal rapport. At a separate, restricted format meeting on Tuesday, they will discuss and decide on key elements of the strategic partnership. There is a history of the two leaders engaging in restricted and private format talks over the past 10 years. The summit will give fresh impetus to joint defence production, which has been the hallmark of the India-Russia strategic partnership.
