India-EAEU trade liberalisation talks intensified, says Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that negotiations on trade liberalisation between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India have intensified, signalling fresh momentum in efforts to forge a free trade agreement between the two sides, according to a media report.
“Last year trade agreements were concluded with Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Indonesia, intensifying negotiations on trade liberalisation with India,” Putin was quoted as saying at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on Friday, by Russian state-owned TASS news agency.
The EAEU is a five-member economic bloc comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. It was founded in 2015 to promote economic integration through a common market, the elimination of trade barriers and the coordination of economic policies among its member states. “We support the draft decisions on launching talks on free trade agreements with new promising partners,” said Putin, adding that all aspects of such forward movement would be carefully analysed.
The India-EAEU free trade agreement (FTA) process has been gaining ground steadily. In August 2025, India and the EAEU signed the Terms of Reference to formally launch FTA negotiations, with both sides noting that bilateral trade turnover had reached $69 billion the previous year, registering a seven per cent increase over 2023.
The first round of negotiations was held from November 26 to 28 last year. The talks gained further momentum this year with New Delhi identifying deeper trade integration with the EAEU as one of its priorities under its BRICS chairmanship.
The Russian president also noted that many countries and organisations, including the CIS, ASEAN and the EAEU, were showing interest in deeper cooperation, and that the EAEU remained open to mutually beneficial and equitable engagement with all such partners.
