Partha Roy, Kolkata: A special session on ‘India – Russia Economic Relations and Perspectives of Cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union was organised by 121 years old Merchant Chamber of Commerce (MCCI) on Friday 18th November 2022 in Kolkata.
The Special Session was addressed by Alexey M. Idamkin, Consul General, The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Kolkata. Mr. Maxim Aleshin, Senior Consul and Ms. Ekaterina Lazareva, Head of Protocol of The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Kolkata were present. Mr. Zha Liyou, Consul General of China in Kolkata, Ms Acharapan Yavaprapas, Consul General and Mr. Pichaya Lapasthamrong, Consul of Thailand in Kolkata attended the Session.Mr. Daniel Sim, Consul of Australia in Kolkata, was present.
In his welcome address, Shri Rishabh C. Kothari, President of, MCCI said that the trade turnover between India and Russia witnessed unprecedented growth in the first half of the fiscal year 2023 reaching over US$ 11 billion, showing a likelihood of achieving the trade goal of US$ 30 billion by 2025.
India’s shift in sourcing oil from the Middle East to Russia has given much of the impetus to trade this fiscal and Russia’s offer of supplying crude at a cheaper rate has been the prime reason for India to look at Russia. At present more than two-thirds of trade happens in fertilizer and hydrocarbon, raw material supplies but there are more opportunities to broaden economic cooperation.
The two countries are engaging themselves in synchronization of the payment systems with the Russian Mir in India and the Indian RuPay in Russia. Such mutual recognition of the payment system will lead to the strengthening of business ties and Russia’s move to give the Indian Rupee the status of a trade currency will give India an edge in trading terms worldwide.
The Eurasian Economic Union consisting of five member states – Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan and Armenia may well form an economic union and a common market on the lines of the European Union. Better business with Russia can open enhanced trading lines with them. The currency synchronization or the Rupee functioning as a trade currency may give India a strong business footprint in the Eurasian Zone.
Alexey M. Idamkin said that mutual trust and amicability have not diminished between India and Russia in recent times. He reminded the audience that Russia had stood by India during the Indo – Pak war in 1971, the Kargil conflict and other difficult times. India – Russian friendship has withstood the test of time. India does not want to join the current Western sanctions against Russia and the two countries continue to give a shoulder to each other.
India and Russia continue to strongly cooperate on defence issues with real-time communication between the two sides. The two countries continue to cooperate in space exploration, among other significant areas. In West Bengal, Russian equipment was being used for underground mining and it was in the areas of MSME that Russia was collaborating with the state.
Mr. Idamkin agreed with Mr. Kothari’s view that the volume of trade between India and Russia will reach USD 30 billion by 2025. He said the volume of trade in the first six months of the current fiscal has been worth $ 18 billion. Russian exports of hydrocarbons form a significant portion of bilateral trade and in fact, Russia has increased oil exports to India sixfold year-on-year in this year. Although overall bilateral trade between India and Russia was increasing Mr. Idamkin expressed concern over the trade imbalance between the two countries.
He mentioned the JVs between the two nations in the areas of refinery, steel and fertilizer, and nuclear energy and said that both India and Russia would not only continue with their relationship but will build upon it.
On announcing Rupee being a trade currency Mr. Idamkin said that negotiations were fast progressing though he could not comment anything specific on the issue. Both India and Russia have opened a number of Vostro accounts in their respective countries.
The five countries that have formed the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) could give India a better trade opportunity with a formation of a common market, which is evolving. EEU was US$ 2 trillion market.
Alexey M. Idamkin announced that three day Russian Cultural Festival will be organised in Kolkata on November 23, 24, and 25, 2022 at Rabindra Sadan. The Festival is organised by the Ministry of Culture Russian Federation, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of India in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to celebrate the establishment of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Russia & India.
Mr. Rajendra Khandelwal, Committee Member MCCI in his vote of thanks said that Mr. Idamkin was the longest-serving Russian diplomat in Kolkata and termed India and Russia as all-weather friends.