Indian companies have great prospects in Russia, SPIEF director tells RT — RT Business News

By Joydeep Sen GuptaAsia Editor

The trade and economic partnership between India and Russia has grown stronger following Western sanctions against Moscow, the director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) has said.

RT spoke to Aleksey Valkov on the sidelines of the two-day Russia-India Business Forum in New Delhi to find out more about the expansion of the alliance. According to the official, Russia is a long and proven partner of India, and last year became one of New Delhi’s top five trading partners for the first time.

Bilateral trade hit a record $39.8 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year, he noted, citing official data.

Valkov pointed to key industries undergoing rapid development in Russian-Indian relations, namely hydrocarbons, nuclear energy, pharmaceuticals, chemical fertilizers and high-tech products.

“Indian companies have the opportunity to fill vacant niches in other sectors of the Russian economy”, he said, pointing to five key areas of potential cooperation: transport infrastructure; agriculture and agro-industry; support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); digital transformation and advanced technologies, as well as manufacturing and trade.

Valkov pointed out that India already supplies Russia with medicines, car and machinery parts, textiles and clothing, and food products. In the food sector, Russia imports Indian tea and coffee, rice, fruits, seafood and confectionery.

Russian exports to India include mineral oils and fuels, mineral resources, precious stones and metals, fertilizers, project goods, vegetable oils, rubber and rubber products, paper and cardboard , iron and steel, inorganic chemicals, plastic products and pharmaceuticals.

On the issue of a new rupee-ruble mechanism for trade settlements, the SPIEF director argued that transactions in national currencies promote sovereignty and deepen independent cooperation among nations. “Our continued joint work to support mutual settlements in national currencies will help reduce costs and save time, as well as reduce certain risks associated with payments,” he claimed.

When discussing the upcoming 26th SPIEF event, which is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg from June 14-17, Valkov noted that the venue has proven to be an effective tool for promoting companies that want to expand their business in Russia. .

“Participants have the opportunity to negotiate with representatives of federal ministries, but if the interests of all parties are focused on a particular Russian federal subject, all regions are represented on the site, as well as companies from many sectors that will be on the spot to hold negotiations on the spot”, he explained.

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