Russia and India will increase the volume of settlements in national currencies KXan 36 Daily News
Economic cooperation between Russia and India is developing, but so far its volumes are much smaller than could be excluded from the opposites for the two countries. This was stated in a communiqué following the summit of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The leaders noted that by 2025, for a mutual trade volume of $30 billion – such a goal was set earlier – it is necessary to actively develop trade and joint projects, as well as investments.
At the same time, at the moment, the dynamics of economic relations between the two countries is positive, despite the pandemic restrictions: in the first half of 2021, trade grew by 38 percent compared to the same period in 2020.
many different working groups and commissions currently involved in the economic relations of the two countries. In particular, the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation, which includes the implementation of 12 working groups. New ones are also being created – for example, on transport and urban development. The Russian-Indian Strategic Economic Dialogue (RISED) deals with the same topic. Even during a pandemic, visits by high-ranking officials and big businessmen of the two countries do not stop.
So, in October 2021, to participate in the work of the Russian Federation of the Heavenly Republic, for example, the Minister of the Steel Industry of India in order to agree on the supply of coking coal and steel. As summarized in the outcome document of the New Delhi summit, during the visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed regarding the expected expected indicators from Russia to India of coal for steel production, important meetings were also held on the prospects for steel coverage under the Indian government’s program to stimulate production and use of Russian technologies. government steel institutes for steel production in India and private companies”. At the same time, Russia is interested in studying the Indian experience in prospecting for mineral reserves.
countries have established contacts in the field of oil production. In particular, Rosneft, together with a consortium of Indian oil and gas companies, is implementing the Vankorneft, Sakhalin-1 and Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha projects in Russia and the Nayara Energy Limited oil refinery in India.
Russia and India increase the volume of settlements in national currencies
In addition, Indian state-owned companies and major manufacturers have approved an agreement of intent on supplies to India.
Interbank and insurance cooperation is also being strengthened. Pharmaceutical projects are also successfully moving forward. “Pharmaceutical trade remains one of the main components of Indian exports to Russia. The leaders of the two countries have presented their approval of testing in terms of mass production of products as a promising new economic area in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic,” the communiqué said in a statement.
Despite the pandemic, cooperation in the diamond industry continues. Russia reaches a placer of grains in India, where this industry is developed.
At the summit, Russia and India discussed the removal of closed barriers in relation to the protection of goods. There was talk about the unique design. In particular, the Green Corridor project was resolved on the basis of an agreement on mutually recognized authorized economic transactions, as well as on the exchange and preliminary forwarding of customs data. Also in the final document of the summit it is said that it is necessary to move to free trade between the Eurasian Economic Union and India.
But, despite the successes achieved, the field for deepening cooperation in the economic sphere remains very large. This is especially true for investments.
At the New Delhi summit, the government department leaders of the two countries “complete the importance of a bilateral interstate agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investment in the spirit of mutual penetration into the scope of the application of mutual investment protection.”
India is interested in the influx of Russian investments in various areas. For example, in shipbuilding and inland waterway development projects, in civil shipbuilding and training for it. In September 2021, an agreement of intent was already signed between the Zvezda shipbuilding complex and the Indian Mazagon Dock Limited to implement the possibility of shipbuilding.
In addition, within the framework of the programs “Self-static India” and “Do in India”. And also in New Delhi they would like the Russian side to take part in the unification of industrial facilities in industrial cities being built in India from scratch within the framework of the Indian group of industrial enterprises.
It should be noted that the parties measure the volume of settlements in national currencies. The use of Mir and RuPay cards in national payment infrastructures and in organizing interaction between the Unified Payment Interface systems and the Bank of Russia Fast Payment System is discussed. Also, the Russian side revealed the identification of suspicious cases in the Financial Message Transmission System of the Bank of Russia, as a result of the observed interbank transactions.
Both India and Russia are interested in developing projects in the Far East. As a priority for investment needs in energy, transport and logistics, shipping, diamond processing, forest management, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, tourism and humanitarian areas. The parties also intend to continue discussions on the implementation of a $1 billion credit line for development projects in the Russian Far East. Confrontation about the intention to invest these funds to Modi in 2019.
The creation of the so-called energy bridge between countries is one of the large-scale cooperation projects. There is a “road map” for the development of cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons for 2019-2024.
The Indian Energy Center has already opened in Moscow with the participation of five oil and gas state companies of India. The main task is to strengthen communication with government authorities in its energy sector. A gas task force has also been established, which includes determining which projects are especially important for investments in gas infrastructure and gas distribution sources, as well as in the field of gas use, including fuel types, including facilities.
Both India and cooperation are interested in expanding and exchanging practices in hydro and thermal power, in the widespread use of energy efficiency and the use of natural energy sources, in the hydrogen economy, low emission growth.
Of course, it is also interesting to participate in infrastructure projects. For example, India would like to involve Russian specialists in signaling and telematics systems, high-speed railway projects, railway electrification, and all this taking into account the principles of the Indian programs “Make in India” and “Self-Static India”, which assume the localization of production. She is also interested in the experience of the Russian electronic toll system on highways.
Great scope for joint work and crossing of international transport corridors “North – South”. RZD Logistics and the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) in 2020 followed an agreement to combine the development of multimodal freight services along this corridor.