India is negotiating a trade deal with the EAEU which comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. “The negotiations have reached an advanced stage,” said an official. The Terms of Reference for a trade pact with the EAEU were signed on August 20, 2025.
Also Read: Russian firms eye tech ties with India ahead of BRICS
An outline on an 18-month work plan aimed at diversifying markets for Indian businesses, including MSMEs, farmers and fishermen is also in the works.
Export diversification, trade gap
The agreement is crucial as India is looking to diversify its export markets. Bilaterally, India and Russia have set a bilateral trade target of approximately $100 billion by 2030, with the wider economic partnership increasingly focusing on manufacturing, investments, technology cooperation, logistics, localisation and industrial clusters.
This is significant as India had a whopping $226.1 billion trade deficit with the 10 BRICS nations in FY26 as against $74.5 billion in FY21. India’s BRICS trade doubled in the period to $417.5 billion from $203.1 billion in FY21. The 11 BRICS economies are Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.
India’s goods import far outpaced exports with outbound shipments up 48.8% to $95.7 billion in FY26 from FY21 while imports surged 131.8% to $321.8 billion.BRICS’ share in India’s imports rose from 35.2% to 41.5%, while its export share slipped from 22% to 21.7%. However, trade is concentrated in three countries. China, the UAE and Russia supplied almost 84% of India’s BRICS imports. Imports from China reached $131.6 billion, while those from Russia increased more than tenfold to $55.4 billion in 2025-26.
Also Read: Russia reveals India’s big asks ahead of Modi-Putin meet: Su-57 tech, nuclear plants and more
Under its chairip, India aims to bng focus on the developmental priorities of the Global South on BRICS agenda such as internationalisation of MSMEs, vibrant startup ecosystem, resilient global value chains, anti-corruption, smart grids, energy transitions and circular economy, according to the official.