The Government of Gujarat has signed an MoU with the Governor of Yakutia region of Russia to further cooperation in the diamond sector and “bolster the collaboration in the sourcing of rough diamonds”.

The signing took place during the recent visit by an official delegation led by Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, and Railways Shri Piyush Goyal to the Far-East region of Russia.

An official tweet from the Gujarat CM’s handle announced the signing of MoU, while an official release from the central government also reported that five states, the top leadership of which had accompanied the Commerce Minister, had each signed similar MoUs with other regions to foster mutual ties in different sectors.

As reported earlier, India and Russia aim to increase bilateral trade between the two countries to US$ 30 billion by 2025.

CM Rupani also addressed the sectoral session on diamond trade with business representatives of India and Russia, following which he tweeted, “Together we can achieve new heights in the field of diamond trade and other areas of mutual interest”.

GJEPC Chairman Pramod Kumar Agrawal and CoA member Kirit Bhansali, along with BDB President Anoop Mehta led a delegation of diamantaires from India and also participated in the sectoral session.

Later, the Gujarat CM also visited one of the diamond cutting and polishing factories in Vladivostok set up by an Indian diamantaire. Following the visit, the office of the Gujarat CM said in a tweet, “Gujarat CM Shri @vijayrupanibjp also visited new unit of M Suresh & Co, Vladivostok’s leading diamond company and praised the owner Shri Lalitbhai Adani and his team of 250 Gujarati workers for making the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat shine in a country far across the sea.”

On his return to India, Shri Rupani told the media that there are huge business opportunities available in Russia, particularly in the Far East region which “is rich in resources, such as diamond, coal, oil, gas and timber”.

He added that more concrete announcements will be made in this regard during the visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Russia and the Far East region next month.

Pic caption: Hon’ble CM of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani (centre) flanked by GJEPC Chairman Pramod Kumar Agrawal (to his r) and BDB President Anoop Mehta and GJEPC CoA Member Kirit Bhansali (to his l) along with other members of the trade after the signing of the MoU