In his address at the India-Russia Business Summit organised by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Invest India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi on October 5th, union minister of commerce & industry and civil aviation, Suresh Prabhu, said that there is an opportunity for India and Russia to increase diamond imports without adversely impacting the balance of payment.
Prabhu noted that India was the world’s largest centre for cutting and polishing diamonds, while Russia was the biggest diamond producer. “If we can work out a governmentto-government agreement in which we import…in a manner that does not adversely impact balance of payment, then we will meet our demand. Russian exports will increase to India and we import it, process it and re-export that, and both get benefited,” he said.
The commerce minister further said that there is an opportunity for India and Russia to collaborate in all fields like hydrocarbons, gold, timber, pharma, agriculture, power generation, aviation, railways and logistics.
The minister for economic development of Russia, Maxim Oreshkin, said that Russia is preparing a strategy to increase economic cooperation with India. He said that Russia is looking at investment protection and avoidance of double taxation agreement with India besides trade in national currencies.
Making the economic partnership a strong pillar of bilateral relationship is a key priority for both governments. In December 2014, the leaders of the two countries set a target of $30 billion bilateral trade by 2025.
Prabhu also announced the setting up of a fast track, single-window mechanism for Russian companies to be helmed by Secretary, DIPP, ministry of commerce and industry.
The minister stated that this mechanism would be in addition to the Russia Desk that had been set up earlier to promote Russian investment in India.
Prabhu informed that work on the International North-South Transport Corridor was underway and signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), soon, will create a huge market which will benefit all the countries of the region and also promote inter-regional partnerships between the states of India and the regions of Russia.