Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have decided to explore all possible ways to restore bilateral trade and economic relations to pre-conflict levels, before Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022 and also expand them further.

Modi, who met Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday, suggested that Russia and Ukraine should sit together to find a solution to the on-going war between the two countries and said that India was ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace.

“I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that I want to assure you as a friend,” he said.

Modi is visiting Ukraine for the first time since the war broke out and is also the first Indian Prime Minister to ever visit the country.

The two countries also signed four agreements in areas including agriculture and food, medical products regulation, high impact community development projects and cultural cooperation, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Indian PM’s visit to Ukraine follows his visit to Moscow last month where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy had strongly criticised the visit as that day Russian missiles had struck across the country.

Stronger relations

“Prime Minister Modi reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute towards early restoration of peace. He reiterated India’s willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace,” according to a joint statement issued after the meeting of the two leaders.

“In the light of the significant reduction in the annual bilateral trade in goods since the year 2022 due to the challenges related to the ongoing war, the leaders directed the co-chairs of the IGC (inter-governmental commission) to explore all possible ways to not only restore bilateral trade and economic relations to pre-conflict levels but expand and deepen them further,” the statement noted.

Prior to the war, India’s imports from Ukraine in 2021-22 were valued at $2.91 billion which declined steeply by 2023-24 to $539.86 million. In 2021-22, India’s exports to Ukraine were valued at $472.68 million which declined in 2023-24 to $173.3 billion.

The leaders discussed enhancement of cooperation in areas such as trade and commerce, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, defence, education, science & technology, and culture, apart from exploring a stronger partnership in domains such as digital public infrastructure, industry, manufacturing, green energy etc, the statement added.

They also agreed to continue to work towards facilitating a stronger relationship between the defence entities in both countries, including through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing in India and cooperation in emerging areas. A decision was taken to hold the second meeting of the Indian-Ukrainian Joint Working Group on Military-Technical Cooperation, established under the 2012 Defence Cooperation Agreement, in the near future in India.

Modi and Zelenskyy agreed to work towards greater market access and facilitation of investments and joint ventures in pharmaceuticals including through testing, inspection, and registration procedures.

The sides agreed to expedite work on expanding the legal framework of bilateral relations, particularly regarding mutual protection of investments, and exploring mutual recognition of educational documents; academic degrees; and titles.