By Manish Chand, IANS
Moscow : Calling for more Russian investment in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday set a target for bilateral trade to increase to $10 billion by 2010.
India and Russia set up a joint task force to explore ways to take concrete steps to accelerate trade and investment ties on the basis of a report at a joint study group.
At a meeting of Indian and Russian businessmen, Singh stressed the need for increased contacts between the business communities of the two countries that have been hobbled by visa problems.
“There is no substitute for a vigorous two-way engagement between the business communities of India and Russia,” said Singh, admitting business relations “have lagged far behind our excellent political understanding”.
“President Putin and I have therefore identified this aspect as having a high priority. We wish to see our economic engagement expand to become a major pillar of the Indo-Russian strategic partnership,” Singh said a couple of hours after his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“If Russia’s trade with China is $35 billion and with the European Union it is more than 200 billion euros, I see no reason why India-Russia trade should languish at the level of $4 billion,” Singh asked.
India and Russia had set up a joint study group to suggest ways to enhance bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2010, which has submitted its report. The prime minister said that the two countries have decided to set up a joint task force to implement the recommendations of the group.
India will be hosting a second meeting of Indo-Russian forum on trade and investment in India in February next year.
Prime Minister Singh said the Indian economy is witnessing a Gross Domestic Product growth of nine percent. “Never before has such a growth rate been sustained in three years. Our target is to attain a growth rate of 10 percent in the 11th plan period,” he added.
Stressing strong macroeconomic fundamentals in India and foreign exchange reserves of $250 billion, Singh said India was looking at an investment of $450 billion in the next five years to expand infrastructure development in the country.
Singh outlined immense possibility “for joint investments in areas of banking, IT, telecommunications, high technology sectors, power, pharmaceuticals and textiles”.
Indian and Russian enterprises can collaborate in third country markets, the prime minister said.
He projected India as the largest producer of rough diamonds and made a case for direct import of rough diamonds from Russia. “Indian companies have strong presence in gem and jewellery market and opportunities for collaboration need to be explored.”
The meeting was attended by a delegation of top business leaders from the Confederation of Indian Industry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), including Sunil Bharati Mittal, Sushil Kumar Roongta, chairman Steel Authority of India Limited, Shiv Kumar Khemka, vice-chairman Sun group which has extensive business interests in Russia, K.K. Modi and Amit Mitra, secretary general Ficci. The managing director of India’s overseas oil and gas exploration company, ONGC Videsh, R.S. Budola also attended.
The Russian participants included Vladimir Evtushenkov, chairman Afk Sistema, and representatives of top Russian mining and banking groups.