Russia, India Agree To Boost Share Of National Currencies For Reciprocal Payments - Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2021) Moscow and New Delhi have agreed on terms for the use of national currencies for reciprocal payments as one of the ways to resume pre-pandemic trade and investment levels, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"We agreed to make joint efforts to overcome the pandemic-induced decline in trade, to boost investment cooperation in the framework of national programs ... We spoke in favor of stepping up work on the renewed intergovernmental agreement on the protection of mutual investments, and in favor of increasing the share of national currencies in reciprocal payments," Lavrov said at a joint press conference after meeting with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

The top Russian diplomat further noted that during the talks special attention was given to the areas of energy, space, and transport infrastructure projects, including those in the Far East and Arctic region.

"Setting up trade and economic cooperation with New Delhi is one of the Eurasian Economic Union's priorities. We look forward to the speedy launch of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and India based on the principles of mutual benefit," Lavrov added.

The Russian foreign minister arrived in India for an official visit on Monday. He will travel to neighboring Pakistan later on Tuesday for a meeting with his counterpart, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi.