Possible Consequences of the Formation of a Free Trade Zone between EAEU and India for the Promotion of Mutual Trade and Economic Cooperation

In the context of the crisis of the multilateral trading system, regional trade agreements are becoming increasingly important. Today, international trade is stimulated by the presence of a large number of RTAs, including the integration type (361 agreements as of January 1, 2024), which ensures the continuity of global turnover of goods and services. The desire of countries to cooperate and achieve maximum harmonization of policies in various areas leads to the transformation of WTO norms. Modern agreements are increasingly filled with the norms of the WTO+ and WTO-extra groups, which once again confirms that trade liberalization is only the first step towards more fundamental cooperation between the parties, merging economies. Due to Western sanctions pressure, Russia is now completely reformatting its foreign economic strategy, focusing primarily on the Asian region. Given the already close ties with China and the development of dialogue with ASEAN countries, Russia is interested in intensifying cooperation with South Asia, with India being the most promising partner. There have been discussions about the FTA agreement between the EAEU and India for a long time. But the events in Ukraine in 2014 and the special military operation served as an impetus for the start of active actions to bring economies closer together. Among all the EAEU member states, the development of economic partnership with India is of particular importance for Russia, since both countries have historically established ties, a high interest in cooperation, and participate in the same associations (SCO, BRICS). The potential effect of the formation of a free trade zone with India may be both in the growth of Russian-Indian trade turnover and the development of other forms of economic cooperation, as well as in curbing the Chinese presence in the Russian market. Thus, the relevance of the work is conditioned by Russia's "turn to the East" due to the destabilization of relations with Western countries and the increased competition between India and China for a sphere of influence in the Asian region. The purpose of the research work is to determine the economic effect of the conclusion of the FTA agreements between the EAEU and India for Russian-Indian trade and economic relations.