MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Cooperation in the oil and gas sector between Moscow and New Delhi drives economic cooperation between the two countries, with supplies of Russian hydrocarbons to the republic having climbed dozens of times, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said.

"We see very good prospects for expansion of economic cooperation between our countries, which is driven by interaction in the oil and gas sector now. Supplies of Russian hydrocarbons to India have increased dozens of times," he said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on Friday.

According to statistics provided by the Indian side, "Russian-Indian trade volumes reached $65 bln" in 2023, the diplomat said, adding that "this is an absolute record.".