Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu met his Russian counterpart Denis Manturov on Saturday in St Petersburg and discussed ways to further promote trade and investments between the two countries.

“India and Russia share strong trade and investment ties with more potential. We shall work together to strengthen our economic ties to create win-win for all,” Prabhu said in a series of tweets.

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He said that businesses of both the countries have immense untapped potential of cooperation in several areas including agriculture, defence and logistics.

The minister was on an official visit to Russia to participate in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2018.

Prabhu also held discussions with governor of Stavropol Vladimir Vladimirov, Russian minister for the development of far east Alexander Kozlov, and met delegations from different sectors.

To promote trade, India wants Russia to explore opportunities for diamond trade here and use of national currencies for trade purposes in areas like pharmaceuticals, textiles, agricultural commodities and machinery and engineering products.

According to government data, the bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 7.5 billion in 2016-17 from USD 6.2 billion in the previous fiscal. But the trade is in the favour of Russia.