your Excellency first Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Mano Minister Serge chairman our two ambassadors president piki Dr Anish sha distinguished participants it's a great pleasure to join you all at this forum this morning I thank the organizers for their excellent arrangements and painstaking preparations friends we meet today to discuss and explore new business opportunities between India and Russia this takes place barely 3 months after the annual Summit between our leaders in Moscow they also had another opportunity to interact last month in Kazan those locations have provided a strategic Direction whose economic Dimension we seek to realize
through this Gathering but there is also a larger International setting in which we should place our cooperation the world is moving towards ever greater multipolarity and devising appropriate methods of cooperation is essential if we are to keep up moreover Russia has consciously focused more deeply on Asia since 2022 this has created many more Avenues of cooperation that we have a long history of strong convergence and deep friendship allows us to make the best of both factors that the two economies are so complimentary is also a key consideration a partnership between an India that has an
8% growth rate for multiple decades ahead and a Russia that is a key natural resources provider as well as a major technology leader will serve both of them and the world well keeping that in mind ladies and gentlemen let me highlight 10 significant developments that we need to take note of one our bilateral prade today is US 66 billion this makes the goal of of reaching us doar 100 billion by 2030 more than realistic two the balance of trade however needs urgent redresser since it is so one-sided it is imperative that non-tariff barriers and Regulatory
impediments are speedily addressed for this to happen three the India Eurasian economic Union trade in Goods negotiations commenced in March this year we need to vigorously Take It Forward four the first ever bilateral investment Forum took place in Moscow in April 2024 we also need to expedite negotiations on the bilateral investment treaty five the program for cooperation in regard to the Russian Far East from 2024 to 29 was signed in July during the annual Summit it encourages other related activities including in the connectivity sphere six Mutual settlement of trade in National currencies is of great
importance especially in the current circumstances special rupee vro accounts are right now an effective mechanism however even in the short run a better trade trade balance with national currency settlements is obviously the answer seven signing of a bilateral agreement between our customs authorities of the two countries in May 2024 on authorized economic operators has had a big uh impact on smoothening the ease of doing trade eight three connectivity initiatives and the dep first Deputy Prime Minister mentioned it as well three uh connectivity initiatives between us the uh International north south transport Corridor the Chennai blto
Corridor and the northern Maritime route all need continued attention if you are to realize the full potential nine a growing Russian appreciation of make in India as a program to deepen business will certainly uh help to take forward our cooperation in many many domains and finally I flaged your attention the importance of non-economic domains such as education or film as contributions to a larger societal but also economic connect between us now all of these issues the 10 that are listed they're all expressions of the task that our leaders have given during the annual Summit to
develop a comprehensive economic partnership between India and Russia in fact they have also charged us with developing a program of economic cooperation till 2030 on which work is currently underway so ladies and gentlemen I sure you will agree that the business community of both countries should take note and appreciate the strong Direction given by the governments to take forward our trade and investment ties it is natural that there would be concerns concerns such as Banking and payment related issues concerns like logistical challenges including shipping insurance and reinsurance as well as Market access issues obviously we
have to find solutions that work to the Comfort level of those who are actually involved in trade I'm confident that today's Gathering and the sessions that will follow will facilitate an open exchange of views in this regard with the expectation of coming up with mutually beneficial and workable answers friends we are all aware of the complimentary nature of our respective economies if we recognize that fully then it also follows that our approach is not transactional but aimed at building long-term Partnerships in energy domains such as oil gas coal or uranium India will always be a
major player in the international markets this applies as well to the demand for fertilizers of various kinds constructing a mutually beneficial Arrangement will help us both address the volatility and the uncertainty of our times the emergence of a global workplace is also today an increasing reality demographic unevenness has created demand and Supply imbalances across the world India and Russia can be partners in this regard as well it would require a focused initiative that customizes human resources in India for the Russian Market that is best done with the active participation of businesses friends tomorrow the India
Russia intergovernmental commission will be meeting in Delhi to take stock of of our bilateral cooperation your deliberations can provide a valuable input for policy makers to consider we look forward to receiving these at the conclusion of this forum thank you for your attention [Music] [Applause] [Music]
