MUMBAI, November 11. /TASS/. Russian companies are interested in organizing long-term supplies of LNG and coal to India, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told reporters.

"We also see prospects in expansion of cooperation between Russia and India in the LNG sector. <…> Russian companies are interested in organizing long-term LNG supplies to India," he said.

The two countries also have opportunities for boosting cooperation in the coal sector "amid an ongoing global shortage of metallurgical coal," Manturov added. "Russian coal producers have extensive resources and they are interested in expanding their presence on the fast-growing Indian market and, consequently, in concluding long-term contracts on coal supplies to India," he said.

India is one of Russia’s key partners in terms of energy export, the official noted. "In 2021, India accounted for less than 4 mln tons of annual supplies of Russian crude, while in 2023 [India] already [accounted for] around one third of Russian oil exports," he stressed.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said a joint business forum in Mumbai earlier that New Delhi favors building long-term partnerships with Russia in the energy sector, which will enable the two countries to address the global uncertainty.