India and Russia on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation in fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy sectors during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit.
Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) met Russian Agriculture Minister Oxana Lut at Krishi Bhawan, where both sides discussed boosting bilateral trade, easing market access, and accelerating establishment listings for exports.
The Indian side highlighted the country’s fish and fishery exports worth USD 7.45 billion in 2024–25, including USD 127 million to Russia, and stressed the potential to diversify supplies of shrimp, mackerel, tuna, crab, squid and other products. Russia expressed readiness to increase imports of Indian fish, meat and dairy products, and showed interest in developing trout production through joint technical projects.
India sought faster approvals for pending establishment listings on Russia’s FSVPS platform, including 12 dairy companies such as AMUL awaiting registration. The Minister also called for early clearances in buffalo meat and poultry categories and requested revocation of temporary restrictions on certain units.
Both sides discussed cooperation in deep-sea fishing vessels, advanced aquaculture technologies such as Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and Biofloc, and capacity building in processing and value addition. They also agreed to explore collaboration in coldwater fisheries, genetic improvement, and aquaculture research.
India proposed establishing a structured mechanism through a Memorandum of Understanding to advance cooperation across fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy sectors. The Russian Minister welcomed deeper collaboration, citing scope for joint work in veterinary vaccine development, equipment manufacturing, and animal disease management. She also emphasized strengthening partnerships between universities and research institutions through exchange programmes.
Senior officials from the Department of Fisheries, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, ICAR, MPEDA and other agencies attended the meeting. The discussions took place ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s State Visit to India for the 23rd Annual Summit on December 4–5.
