This was reported by Indian business publication Mint. This work includes mutual opening of correspondent accounts in Russian rubles and rupees, ensuring availability of means of delivery, particularly ships, and insurance coverage for shipments
New Delhi has a keen interest in Russian energy. As Mint points out, India not only plans to cover its own needs, but also to become a major global reseller of hydrocarbons from Russia at least in its region.
Due to sanctions, payments to Indian exporters to the tune of around $500 million for goods already shipped to Russia remain frozen. The local currency trade mechanism is therefore key to resuming trade with Moscow, as Delhi buys many defence and nuclear products from Russia and exports pharmaceuticals, engineering and agricultural products.
Obviously, for Russia, the Indian market is primarily interesting in terms of diverting hydrocarbons from the US and EU markets. India imports 85% of its oil and 55% of its natural gas. The country, by the way, is the third largest oil importer in the world.
Generally speaking, our country should diversify its supplies of oil and gas and other commodities in order not to become heavily dependent on China in particular. The optimal ratio is for each major buyer of Russian hydrocarbons to account for no more than 20% of all foreign supplies. Such an approach and certain competition for Russian hydrocarbons will help us to sell them at prices no lower than the market.
Elena Panina