August 13, 2019
This visit came as a fulfillment of the assurance of PM Modi to President Putin to explore opportunities in the Far East region of Russia
The companies interacted separately with identified partners in an expanded B2B format and established contacts for further deliberations
The ministers underlined the need to diversify trade links in priority sectors to meet bilateral trade target of US$30 billion by 2025
MoUs were signed between regions of the Russian Far East and the five Indian states in trade, investment, scientific and technical cooperation
Piyush Goyal, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, recently led a high-power delegation to Vladivostok, Russia. The visit is a precursor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s travel to Vladivostok in early September for the 5th edition of the Eastern Economic Forum, where he will be the chief guest.
The Indian delegation included the Chief Ministers of Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Goa, along with representatives of about 140 Indian companies. From the Russian side, about 200 companies, investment agencies, and funds took part.
The companies represented a cross-section of priority sectors, including minerals and rare earth, energy, forestry and timber, healthcare, agriculture and food processing, ceramics, tourism and infrastructure. They interacted separately with identified partners in an expanded B2B format and established contacts for further deliberations.
The event was the result of collaboration between Invest India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on the Indian side, and the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic and the Far East Investment and Export Promotion Agency on the Russian side.
The sessions were attended by the Governors of several regions of the Far East and senior officials on both sides. In the Plenary Session, attended by close to 400 delegates, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Trutnev, and the Commerce Minister of India underlined the need to diversify and deepen trade links in priority sectors, in order to meet the bilateral trade target of US$30 billion by 2025.
Piyush Goyal urged companies on both sides to use this special opportunity to come together to discuss partnerships directly with each other, and to come up with concrete project proposals and substantial outcomes. The Plenary Session culminated with the signing of MoUs between regions of the Russian Far East and five states of India to expand and strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, investment, scientific and technical cooperation.
Indian entities are already engaged in key sectors in Russia, like power, coal, oil and gas. With this visit, it is hoped that both countries move away from a buyer-seller relationship to one where there is technology transfer, Make in India, job creation, and content creation in India.