NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (KUNA) — Russia Tuesday stated that Moscow and New Delhi must cooperate with each other to achieve the target of 10 billon usd bilateral trade by 2010 and that it can emerge as Indias most important economic partner. “India and Russia need to pay more attention to each other to expand their trade and investment basket,”visiting Russian Prime Minister Victor Zubkov said in his address at the Second India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment here today. “The two countries should work closely to achieve the target of 10 billion usd bilateral trade by 2010. The two sides need to look at new areas of co-operation. Russia can become India’s most important economic partner if the two sides engage seriously with each other,” Zubkov said. “The representatives from Russian oil, gas, mining and machinery industries are working closely with Indian businessmen and exploring ways for further co-operation,” he added.
Speaking at the Forum, Indias Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath said, “Our business ties are running far below potential. We should address the issues of high transportation costs and inadequate exchanges between Indian and Russian businessmen to boost our trade volume. The north-south corridor provides the shortest link between India and Russia through Iran and the Caspian Sea. The corridor could help reduce costs by nearly one-third. The diversification of high-value trade items could offset the transportation cost disadvantage.” “A number of Russian entrepreneurs are studying India’s telecom market and are interested in investing in the manufacturing of telecom equipment. Russia holds enormous potential for us. The sectors that look promising include pharmaceuticals, tea and tobacco. We would like to revive tea trade,” Kamal Nath said. “There is considerable scope for collaboration in the service sector. The Russian oil boom is driving the domestic IT sector to grow. Though big Indian IT companies are absent in Russia, things are changing. The Russian technology sector has much to offer us. Similarly, Indian banking industry can play a role in strengthening Russia’s financial sector,” the Indian Minister said. Also addressing the forum, Russias Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Russian Federation, E S Nabiullina, said, “India-Russia forum will open new avenues and boost trade between the two countries. The forum will help us identify new opportunities and facilitate dialogue. The Joint Study Group has been studying measures to boost Indo-Russian trade and provide impetus to co-operation. The group has also helped us forge a closer partnership.”