Expressing interest in forging commercial cooperation with India in oil and gas, power generation and mining, Russia has said the public-private partnership model would hold the key to success in enhancing engagement between the two countries.

"India and Russia have mutual complementarity and ample opportunities for greater collaboration. The key factor to enhancing bilateral cooperation is public-private partnership on both sides," Russia's Ambassador to India Vyacheslav Trubnikov said here last evening at a function, organised by the Indian-Russian Chamber of Commerce.

Bilateral trade grew 40 per cent last year to five billion dollars and the two emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies have set a target of 10 billion dollars by 2010.

Trubnikov said Russia was keen on forging a relationship with India in a host of areas, mainly energy, transport, IT, infrastructure, biotechnology, automobile, space exploration and civil aviation. He said the contours of the bilateral trade have changed in the last decade.

"Previously the leadership of both countries concentrated on political cooperation and military and technical interaction. However, today most endeavours and initiatives are aimed at fostering mutually beneficial trade and economic collaboration," he said.

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