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Report by OD bureau, New Delhi: Mr. Mikhail Rapota, Trade Commissioner of the Russian Federation in India, said today that the scope for Russia-India cooperation in trade was immense in sectors such as power engineering, oil and gas, aircraft building, agriculture, processed food, banking, gems and jewellery.
Speaking at a meeting of the members of the Russian Business Mission to India with Indian industry representatives, Mr. Rapota said that in 2011, bilateral trade turnover stood at $8.9 billion and a 30 per cent increase in trade has already been witnessed in January-August 2012 as compared to the corresponding period last year.”
The meeting was organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and The Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in India.
At the 18th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission held in New Delhi on Monday, the two nations expressed the desire to strengthen and expand trade and economic cooperation. The two sides identified new areas of cooperation apart from sectors such as mining, metals, pharmaceuticals and communications where collaboration already exists.
Mr. Petr Fradkov, Director General, Export Insurance Agency of Russia (EXIAR), stated that the trade target between India and Russia is $20 billion by 2015. “Medium size companies in the market are not in a position to either discover new instruments of fund-raising or find new partners for business. Therefore, joint ventures should be created at all levels of business,” he added.
Mr. Yaroslav Tarasyuk, Head of Division, Department of Asia and Africa, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, said that there was ample room for improvement of business. The Russian Business Mission’s agenda was to bridge the gaps to facilitate two-way trade. He said that there was lack of business-to-business interactions. Hence, the focus now was on B2B interactions and it has been able to garner good response from the Russian industry.
Mr. R P Singh, President, Sun Group, said that here were synergies between the two countries but business did not grow the way it should. “For trade and commerce to develop joint cooperation is needed along with stronger interactions between the business communities of the two countries. Joint ventures can really play a significant role in improving business,” he emphasized.
Mr. Atul Krishna Shunglu, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI, said that there was scope of improvement in trade and investment between the two nations. Both countries could reap mutual advantage in many sectors. Also, medium size enterprises found it difficult to prosper on their own. Hence it was essential to focus on medium size enterprises as they were important for the success of large enterprises.”
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