Addressing the India-Russia Business Forum in Mumbai, External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, said on 11th November 2024 that the partnership between India and Russia will serve both countries and the world well and urged the business community to take forward the trade and investment ties between the countries.
The Union Minister noted that constructing a mutually beneficial arrangement will help both address the volatile and uncertain of times. He acknowledged that there would be concerns, such as banking and payment related issues, logistical challenges like shipping, insurance and reinsurance as well as market access. However, he hoped that the forum would facilitate “an open exchange of views in this regard, with the expectation of coming up with mutually beneficial and workable answers.”
The India-Russia Business Forum is taking place a day before the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission meeting in Delhi.
Jaishankar stressed that devising appropriate methods of cooperation is essential to keep up with a world that is moving towards “ever greater multi-polarity”. He noted that Russia has consciously focused more deeply on Asia since 2022 which has created many more avenues of cooperation.
The Union Minister highlighted ten significant developments between India and Russia which included:
(i) The bilateral trade between India and Russia is today at USD 66 billion, making the goal of reaching USD 100 billion by 2030 more than realistic
(ii) India calls for non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments for balance of trade.
(iii) The India-Eurasian Economic Union trade in goods negotiations commenced in March 2024.
(iv) The first ever bilateral Investment Forum took place in Moscow in April 2024.
(v) The programme for cooperation in regard to the Russian Far-East from 2024-29 was signed in July during the Annual Summit. It encourages other related activities including in the connectivity sphere.
(vi) Mutual settlement of trade in national currencies is of great importance. Although Special Rupee Vostro Accounts are right now an effective mechanism, even in the short run, a better trade balance with national currency settlements is the answer.
(vii) Signing of a bilateral agreement between the customs authorities of the two countries in May 2024 on Authorized Economic Operators, has had a big impact on smoothening the ease of doing trade.
(viii) The three connectivity initiatives between India and Russia – INSTC, Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor and the Northern Maritime Route – all need continued attention to realize their full potential.
(ix) A growing Russian appreciation of Make in India as a program to deepen business will certainly help to take forward cooperation in many domains.
(x) Importance of non-economic domains, such as education and film, emphasised as contributions to a larger societal but also an economic connect between us.
The Union Minister further stated that work is currently underway to develop a Comprehensive Economic Partnership till 2030.
Reminding the business community of the complementary nature of the respective economies, Jaishankar asserted, “our approach is not transactional but aimed at building long-term partnerships”. He also stated that demographic unevenness has created demand and supply imbalances across the world and noted that India and Russia can be partners in this regard as well. “It would require a focused initiative that customizes human resources for the Russian market. That is best done with the active participation of businesses”, he added.
