India and Russia are looking to expand the use of the Northern Sea shipping route, including building of processing facilities. The Northern Sea shipping route passes through the Arctic Ocean.

According to a report by Russia’s Interfax agency, the country’s minister for development of the Far East and Arctic, Alexei Chekunkov, who is visiting India, will discuss with Indian officials the reliable and safe transportation of goods through the Northern Sea route using Indian and Russian ports.

Chekunkov said that the cost of delivering a container from Vladivostok to India is a third lower than the cost of shipping a container from Moscow.

Russia wants the Northern Sea Route – which runs along Russia’s northern coastline and is the shortest shipping route between East Asia and Europe – to become a major shipping lane and has invested heavily in infrastructure there.

The Northern Sea route is not used in the winters due to thick ice, but Moscow plans to begin year-round shipping by the end of the year, spurred by the warming of the Arctic.

Meanwhile, India has emerged as the largest buyer of Russian oil after China, last year. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that Russian oil supplies to India jumped 22-fold last year.

Russia needed to focus on boosting energy exports to so-called “friendly” countries, he said. Novak said energy revenues accounted for 42 per cent of Russia’s federal budget in 2022 and said the country’s energy industry was sustainable, despite the challenges faced by Western sanctions.