**Executive Summary**
On April 2, 2026, a Russian parliamentary delegation led by H.E. Mr. Vladimir Yakushev met with the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Shri Harivansh, to strengthen bilateral ties and parliamentary cooperation. The meeting highlighted significant trade growth exceeding $70 billion and reaffirmed the goal of reaching $100 billion in annual trade by 2030. Key focus areas include the upcoming BRICS Parliamentary Forum in India and the resumption of exchanges through the newly constituted India-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Parliamentary Cooperation**
* The India-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group was officially constituted on the Indian side in February 2026.
* H.E. Mr. Vladimir Yakushev has been appointed as the Head of the Friendship Group of the Federation Council for cooperation with the Rajya Sabha.
* There is a renewed emphasis on fostering engagement between young and women parliamentarians to strengthen future bilateral ties.
* The Inter-Parliamentary Commission continues to serve as a vital mechanism for facilitating dialogue between the two nations' legislatures.
**Economic and Trade Relations**
* Bilateral trade has reached approximately $70 billion, more than doubling the initial annual target of $30 billion.
* Both nations remain committed to achieving a bilateral trade target of $100 billion by the year 2030.
* The 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, held in December 2025, resulted in multiple MoUs and agreements that have expanded cooperation into new strategic and economic sectors.
**Multilateral and Strategic Engagement**
* India and Russia maintain active collaboration within the United Nations, G20, SCO, and BRICS frameworks.
* Russia has expressed support for India’s current Chairmanship of BRICS.
* The Deputy Chairman acknowledged Russia’s support in countering terrorism, specifically referencing India’s Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack context.
**Cultural and Historical Ties**
* The October exposition of the Sacred Relics of Shakyamuni Buddha in the Kalmykia region was cited as evidence of strong historical and cultural linkages.
* Cooperation continues to expand across science and technology, energy, security, and cultural domains.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Indian and Russian Parliamentarians**
**Impact:**
Legislators are seeing a formalized and high-priority structure for dialogue through the newly formed Friendship Group and the Inter-Parliamentary Commission.
**Action Required:**
The new Co-Chairs and members from both sides are required to meet soon to resume fruitful exchanges and specifically initiate programs for young and women parliamentarians.
**Stakeholder: Trade and Economic Agencies**
**Impact:**
The significant increase in trade volume to $70 billion necessitates continued strategic coordination to meet the expanded $100 billion target.
**Action Required:**
Stakeholders must implement the agreements and MoUs signed during the December 2025 Annual Summit to open new avenues of cooperation.
**Stakeholder: BRICS Delegates and Organizers**
**Impact:**
As the current Chair of BRICS, India will host several high-level meetings involving Russian representatives.
**Action Required:**
Indian organizers must prepare to welcome Russian delegations for various BRICS meetings, with a specific focus on the upcoming BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
Key Entities Referenced
Harivansh, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha: The primary Indian legislative official who hosted the Russian parliamentary delegation to discuss strengthening bilateral ties and trade targets.
Vladimir Yakushev: First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation and head of the visiting parliamentary delegation and Friendship Group.
23rd India-Russia Annual Summit: A high-level bilateral summit held in December 2025 that established key agreements and trade targets, including the 100 billion USD trade goal by 2030.
India-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group: A legislative body recently constituted on the Indian side in February 2026 to facilitate direct cooperation between the two nations' parliaments.
BRICS Parliamentary Forum: A key multilateral platform for legislative engagement where India, as chair, seeks to expand cooperation with Russian delegations.
Rajya Sabha Secretariat
Parliamentary Delegation from the Russian
Federation calls on Shri Harivansh, Hon’ble
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha
India and Russia share a tradition of rich and fruitful
exchanges at the level of Parliaments
Bilateral cooperation continues to expand across political,
strategic, economic, energy, security, science and technology
and cultural domains
Posted On: 02 APR 2026 6:23PM by PIB Delhi
A Parliamentary Delegation led by H.E. Mr. Vladimir Yakushev, First Deputy Speaker of the Federation
Council of the Russian Federation, called on the Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri Harivansh,
in Parliament today.
Welcoming the delegation, Shri Harivansh expressed his pleasure on Mr. Yakushev’s first visit to India and
noted that his appointment as the Head of the Friendship Group of the Federation Council for cooperation
with Rajya Sabha signifies the high-priority that Russia places on parliamentary cooperation with India.
He underlined that India and Russia share a tradition of rich and fruitful exchanges at the parliamentary
level.
Recalling recent interactions, the Deputy Chairman noted that the Chairman of the State Duma, H.E. Mr.
Vyacheslav Volodin, visited India in February 2025. He also referred to the visit of an all-party
parliamentary delegation led by Ms. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi to Russia in May 2025 in the context of the
Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor, and expressed gratitude for Russia’s support to the
joint resolve in countering terrorism.
He emphasized that the visit of the present delegation would further strengthen parliamentary cooperation
and contribute to the growing engagement between the two countries, noting that bilateral interactions
have been progressing in an encouraging manner.
Referring to recent developments, Shri Harivansh noted that the successful 23rd India-Russia Annual
Summit held in December 2025 during the State visit of H.E. President Vladimir Putin to India, and stated
that the agreements and MoUs signed in various fields have opened new avenues of cooperation, while
strengthening the existing ones. He added that interaction at the ministerial and official levels also
continues to develop and expand.
Highlighting bilateral cooperation, he stated that trade and economic cooperation continue to be an
important pillar of the relationship. He noted that bilateral trade has grown rapidly to around 70 billion US
Dollars, more than double the annual bilateral trade target of 30 billion US Dollars which was to beachieved by the year 2025. He further stated that both sides remain hopeful that the goal of 100 billion US
Dollars worth of annual bilateral trade by 2030 will be achieved, which was set by the two leaders in
2024.
Highlighting cultural linkages, Shri Harivansh noted that the exposition of Sacred Relics of Shakyamuni
Buddha from the National Museum of India in Kalmykia region in October saw an unprecedented
response from the Kalmyk people, stating that this is testament to the close old historical cultural linkages
between the two countries.
On multilateral cooperation, he stated that India and Russia enjoy vibrant ties in the multilateral domain,
with substantial cooperation in the United Nations, G20, BRICS and SCO formats. He noted that India
holds the Chairmanship of BRICS this year and appreciated Russia’s support to India’s BRICS Presidency,
expressing that India looks forward to welcoming Russian delegations for various BRICS meetings in
India, especially for the BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
Emphasizing parliamentary cooperation, Shri Harivansh stated that the level of cooperation between the
Parliaments of both countries has been very good. He noted that the Inter-Parliamentary Commission has
played an important role in facilitating cooperation between the Parliaments and informed that the India-
Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group on the Indian side has been constituted in February 2026,
expressing hope that the new Co-Chairs and members from both sides will meet soon to resume fruitful
exchanges.
The Deputy Chairman emphasized that both sides can look at working towards greater engagement
between young and women parliamentarians, which would go a long way in strengthening bilateral ties.
Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Chairman stated that India and Russia must continue their efforts to
strengthen parliamentary cooperation and further deepen their multifaceted partnership.****
RKK
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