Path paved to link India’s skill base with Russia’s demand for labourers

India and Russia on Friday (December 5, 2025) signed two agreements that will enhance the mobility of Indian semi-skilled and skilled workers to Russia, as official sources indicated that New Delhi will increasingly utilise India’s “strength” in the category of “semi-skilled workers” in the coming years.

Putin’s India visit highlights

A list of outcomes after the 23^rd India-Russia annual summit said a pact was signed between the two sides on “Temporary Labour Activity of Citizens of one State in the Territory of the other State” and a second agreement between the two governments on “Cooperation in Combating Irregular Migration”.

An official said that the mobility agreements will provide a framework for employment of Indian workers in Russia and ensure that they do not face difficulties met by Indians who were fraudulently lured by agents to fight for the Russian armed forces in Ukraine during the past three years. “Mobility agreements will help us to know where our global job-seekers are going,” said a source.

In a briefing, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the issue of Indian men fighting for Russian armed forces featured during the talks. He urged Indian nationals to exercise caution while accepting job offers to work abroad.

The Hindu had earlier reported that there is a demand for half-a-million semi-skilled workers in Russia, which is one of the factors that is propelling Moscow to reach out to friendly countries. The issue of mobility featured prominently in a speech delivered by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at a conclave of India’s World magazine on December 3, when he said that the Government of India wishes to be an “enabler” of mobility through “formal arrangements”.

“So the fact is, today, mobility is an increasingly important factor of the international economy… We know there is a market for mobility,” Mr. Jaishankar had said at the event, highlighting the need for formal arrangements.