The top Industrial body of India says that India and Russia need stronger trade and economic ties. CII President Hari S Bhartia said this while speaking on a three-day India-Russia Business Dialogue session that started in Saint Petersburg on Thursday. Bhartia said the Indo-Russia bilateral trade last year had dropped by 16 percent and at around 5 billion US dollars, it was a pale shadow of Russia's 50 billion dollars trade with China. The Business Council on Cooperation with India (BCCI) Chairman Sergei Cheryomin said Russian businesses were targeting India after AFK Sistema's successful foray into the Indian telecom sector.