(MENAFN) Russia has declared its willingness to accept "an unlimited number" of skilled Indian laborers as the nation grapples with severe workforce deficits, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

The announcement follows a landmark labor-mobility pact signed during a high-stakes summit between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi earlier this week.

Manturov disclosed to media on Friday that Russia's manufacturing sector alone requires at least 800,000 additional workers, while the trade industry confronts approximately 1.5 million vacant positions. He emphasized that specialists are also needed in services and construction.

"I think we have ample room for cooperation," he said.

The deputy premier cautioned, however, that Indian migrant worker arrivals would not surge dramatically "in a single year," noting the process will "take time."

Addressing the India-Russia Business Forum in New Delhi on Friday, Modi characterized his nation as an emerging "skill capital of the world." He said that "India's young talent…has the capacity to meet global requirements" in multiple sectors.

Modi contended that given Russia's demographic and economic priorities, deeper labor collaboration would yield mutual advantages. He also suggested that India and Russia could jointly provide Russian-language and soft-skills training for Indian workers.

In July, Russia's Labor Ministry told media that the quota for Indian migrant workers in 2025 stands at 71,817 in total.

The Modi-Putin summit produced multiple agreements targeting $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

Russian officials also unveiled plans for a major pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Russia's Kaluga Region, developed in partnership with India—globally recognized as the 'pharmacy of the world'. The South Asian powerhouse manufactures approximately 60% of the world's vaccines and exceeds 20% of global generic medicine production.

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