India-Russia FTA talks with EAEU reach advanced stage, says Russian Deputy PM Manturov

India's deepening economic engagement with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) marks a pivotal shift in its trade diplomacy, reflecting a strategic recalibration toward resource security and multipolar connectivity. The announcement by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in 2024 that Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the EAEU have reached an advanced stage underscores the momentum in bilateral ties, which have historically been anchored in defence and energy cooperation. The EAEU, established in 2015 and comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, represents a combined GDP of over $2.5 trillion and vast reserves of oil, natural gas, rare earth minerals, and agricultural land — resources critical for India's energy transition and manufacturing ambitions under the 'Make in India' and 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiatives. The roots of India-Russia economic cooperation trace back to the 1971 Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation, but trade remained modest — hovering around $10–12 billion annually until 2021. The turning point came after the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict, when India emerged as a major buyer of discounted Russian crude oil, pushing bilateral trade to a record $65 billion in FY2023–24. This surge, driven largely by energy imports, highlighted both the potential and the asymmetry in trade. The proposed FTA aims to diversify this basket by facilitating Indian exports of pharmaceuticals, textiles, IT services, and agricultural products to the EAEU market, while securing long-term access to critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel — essential for India's EV and battery storage goals under the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage (2019). Constitutionally, Article 246 read with Entry 41 of the Union List (trade and commerce with foreign countries) empowers Parliament to legislate on international trade agreements. The FTA would be implemented under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, and aligned with India's commitments under the WTO's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XXIV, which permits regional trade agreements provided they cover 'substantially all trade'. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) and the Commerce Ministry, through the Department of Commerce, lead negotiations, with inputs from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and NITI Aayog. Strategically, the FTA complements India's 'Act East' and 'Connect Central Asia' policies, while the exploration of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) — a shipping lane along Russia's Arctic coast — could reduce transit time to Europe by 40% compared to the Suez Canal. This aligns with the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), operational since 2002, linking Mumbai to Moscow via Iran and the Caspian Sea. Together, these corridors position India as a key node in Eurasian connectivity, countering China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) influence in the region. However, challenges remain: non-tariff barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, rules of origin disputes, and the EAEU's common external tariff structure require careful negotiation. Domestically, sectors like agriculture and dairy may seek protection. Geopolitically, India must balance this engagement with its Quad partnerships and Western ties, especially as Russia deepens alignment with China. Looking ahead, a concluded FTA by 2025 could operationalise the $100 billion trade target by 2030, transform India's resource security architecture, and reinforce its role as a bridge between the Indo-Pacific and Eurasia — a defining feature of its multi-alignment foreign policy in a fragmented global order.