India Further Deepens Trade and Investment with Russia.

Oct. 23 – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow this week for the 14th India-Russia Annual Summit, which focused on deepening India’s strategic partnership with Russia to enhance trade, investment and global stability.

“Despite the fragile global economic environment, our bilateral trade grew by nearly 25% last year to reach 11 billion U.S. dollars. We resolved to promote investments and facilitate closer cooperation in a number of areas with great potential, such as oil and gas, energy, information technology, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, and mining,” stated PM Singh.

In 2000, Russia became the first country with which India signed a Declaration of Strategic Partnership, which has been further strengthened over the past thirteen years. During the recent summit, memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and programs of cooperation were established for investment collaboration and information sharing in the energy, science and technology sectors. In addition to deepening economic cooperation, the leaders also discussed common positions on international and regional issues, emphasizing their commitment to the strategic partnership.

Science and Technology

Numerous agreements were made in the fields of science and technology. The countries signed an MoU to cooperate on energy saving and efficiency through the joint implementation of projects and sharing of best practices in smart grids, energy audits, energy efficient building designs and industrially efficient technology.

Both nations further plan to share innovation and technology in the “sunrise” sectors of IT, nanotechnology, environmental sciences and alternative energy sources. This will be carried out through joint programs and exchanges between schools, R&D institutions and industrial firms. Steps are specifically being taken to increase cooperation in biotechnology, such as encouraging industrial R&D investment flows.

Energy

Cooperation will also further extend to both nuclear energy and hydrocarbons. Cooperation on nuclear power will mainly seek to modernize existing power plants and construct new plants in India. India and Russia will continue to construct additional nuclear power plant units at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India, and construct Russian designed nuclear plants in other Indian cities.

“The Kudankulam nuclear power project is an important symbol of our strategic partnership,” stated PM Singh.

As India looks to strengthen its energy security and diversify its energy imports, both sides are interested in facilitating supplies of hydrocarbons from Russia to India. The two reiterated their commitment to implement the 2010 Enhancement of Cooperation in Oil and Gas Sector Agreement.

There is also an ongoing initiative with Moscow’s JSC Gazprom Group, the largest extractor of natural gas and one of the largest companies in the world, to establish long-term supplies of liquefied natural gas to Indian companies. A joint study group was set up to consider direct land transportation of the hydrocarbons. In addition, India’s ONGC Videsh Limited expressed interest in joining Russian companies to explore the Arctic Circle for hydrocarbons.

Ease of Doing Business

To eliminate barriers for trade and commerce, India and Russia signed a MoU to cooperate on standardization of assessments, which are an integral part of business transactions. This will increase the two countries’ ease of doing business. This MoU will help solidify the gains that were recently made during the Russia-India Business Dialogue at the 17th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, the seventh India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment in September, and the two Chief Executive Officers Council meetings in 2013 that identified sectors and opportunities for further business cooperation.

Following the meeting, PM Singh stated that “the extraordinary history of our relationship and the warmth and goodwill between our peoples gives me great confidence that we will successfully exploit our growing convergence of interests and expanding opportunities for cooperation and take our strategic partnership to even greater heights.”

Source : india-briefing.com