<p><strong>New Delhi: </strong>India and Russia are all set to sign an agreement on migration and mobility during the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi on December 4. The agreement, which has been finalised days before the visit, will seek to facilitate seamless relocation of skilled Indian manpower to that country even as Moscow faces a significant manpower shortage that is adversely impacting both its military and its civilian economy, ABP Live has learnt.</p> <p>Russian President Putin is set to visit India for the first time in four years. His last visit was in 2021. Putin will jointly chair the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit on December 5. India and Russia have been having annual summits since 2000. The last Summit was held on July 8-9, 2024, in Moscow, for which Modi had visited Russia.</p> <p>According to senior officials in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the key takeaways from this visit are going to be the signing of an agreement on migration and mobility that will address the challenges that Russia is facing with skilled manpower shortage. India's new Consulate General in Russia's Yekaterinburg will deal with mobility issues of Indian workers to Russia. </p> <p>Russia is facing a significant and ongoing manpower shortage that affects both its military and its civilian economy. The situation has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which has led to casualties, mobilisation of workers into the armed forces, and an exodus of working-age citizens. </p> <p>Factories producing military hardware, such as T-90 tanks, are struggling to find enough skilled workers to meet increased production demands. The machinery, electronics, construction, and textile sectors face critical deficits. </p> <p>In response, Russia is actively recruiting skilled foreign workers from countries like India, Sri Lanka, and North Korea to fill these gaps. The Russian Ministry of Labour predicts a potential total workforce deficit of 3.1 million by 2030. </p> <p>Putin’s visit comes at a time when the Donald Trump administration in the United States has drawn up a peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine four-year war. The US, along with Europe, has also imposed a series of tough economic sanctions on Russia, even as Washington has come down heavily on some of the leading Russian oil giants such as Lukoil and Rosneft. </p> <p>The goal of these stringent sanctions is to cut off a major source of funding for the Kremlin's war effort in Ukraine. </p> <p>India and Russia share a ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ under which both sides carry out heavy trading of crude oil and defence items. </p> <p>India's oil imports from Russia surged dramatically after the Ukraine invasion, making Russia its top supplier in 2024 and much of 2025 due to steep discounts. However, the recent U.S. sanctions have caused a significant short-term drop in direct Russian oil shipments to India, forcing refiners to seek alternative suppliers and reorganise trade routes. </p> <p>The officials in MEA also said India is compelled to the purchases of crude from Russia as it does not want Indian oil firms to come under the purview of the American sanctions. However, they also maintained that India will continue to source oil from Russia through other means. </p> <p>During this visit, the primary focus is going to be on boosting trade and business between both countries, even as both sides aim to launch the talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). </p> <p>Formal negotiations officially began after the Terms of Reference were signed on August 20, 2025, in Moscow. The EAEU consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. </p> <p>In November 2025, India's Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agrawal, visited Moscow to review the roadmap for the proposed FTA with his EAEU and Russian counterparts. Under the FTA, a bilateral trade target of $100 billion has been set to be achieved by 2030. </p> <p>The FTA negotiations represent a strategic move for India amid increasing global trade pressures, offering opportunities for diversification and growth, said the officials, indirectly referring to the tariff war unleashed by the US. </p> <p>India has a large trade deficit with the EAEU, largely due to oil imports from Russia. The FTA will need to address this imbalance to be mutually beneficial, the officials added. </p> <p>Despite efforts to use rupee-rouble trade, payment mechanisms still face hurdles due to sanctions and limited liquidity, requiring innovative solutions. Concerns exist within India that cheap imports from the EAEU, such as oil and metals, could harm domestic producers, necessitating safeguards or quotas. </p> <p>Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Indian media in a virtual press interaction that Russia is willing to address India’s concerns over a ballooning trade deficit. </p> <p>He said both Moscow and New Delhi should look at doing trade where the payment mechanism will not be used as a “political tool” owing to the dominance of the US Dollar.</p> <p>Bilateral trade between India and Russia reached a record high of $68.7 billion in 2024-25. It comprises India’s exports worth $5 billion and imports from Russia amounting to $63.8 billion. Major items of export from India include pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals, iron & steel and marine products, while major items of import from Russia include oil and petroleum products, vegetable oil (particularly sunflower oil), fertilisers, coking coal, precious stones and metals. </p> <h2>Orders For S-400 Missiles To Be Placed </h2> <p>India is in the process of acquiring a significant new shipment of missiles for its S-400 air defence systems from Russia. This is necessary to replenish its inventory, which was depleted during ‘<a title="Operation Sindoor" href="https://ift.tt/R0kuc5s" data-type="interlinkingkeywords">Operation Sindoor</a>’ against Pakistan in May of this year. </p> <p>India signed a $5.4 billion deal in 2018 for five S-400 squadrons. Three have already been delivered and are operational. The final two S-400 systems were delayed due to the Russia-Ukraine war, with the systems reportedly being diverted for Russia's own use. Russia has now assured India that the remaining two units will be delivered by 2026 and 2027. </p> <p>India's continued reliance on Russian defence technology, despite U.S. sanctions pressure, highlights its policy of "multi-alignment" and prioritisation of national security needs. Both nations are also discussing potential future collaboration on the more advanced S-500 system and setting up Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in India.</p> <p>The longstanding and wide-ranging military technical cooperation between India and Russia has evolved from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems.</p> <p>Russia is also an important source for the supply of defence equipment, engines, spare parts and components. Several defence platforms are also assembled/produced in India, such as T-90 tanks and Su-30 MKI aircraft. </p>
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