Special Session with H.E. Mr.Denis Alipov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India held at MCCI
Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) organized a Special Session with H.E. Mr. Denis Alipov, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India as Chief Guest on ‘Perspectives of India-Russia Economic Cooperation’ on Monday, 20 November 2023 at 4.30 p.m. at MCCI Conference Hall. Mr. Alexey M. Idamkin, Consul General, The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Kolkata also graced the session as the Guest of Honour. Ms. Sonam Kasera, National Managing Committee Member, FIEO was also present at the session. Mr. Zha Liyou, Consul General of China in Kolkata attended the Session.
Mr. Rishabh C. Kothari, Immediate Past President, MCCI in his welcome address mentioned that the trade turnover between India and Russia has witnessed unprecedented growth in the recent time from US$ 13.1 bn in 2021-22 to US$ 49.4 bn in 2022-2023. The bilateral trade between India and Russia is skewed, with a heavy dependence on the energy sector. He suggested making efforts to diversify trade between the two countries by identifying new sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and tourism.
Mr. Kothari identified several challenges to be addressed, such as geographical constraints, diversification to trade, regulatory environment, and competing partnerships. He suggested that by capitalizing on respective strengths, exploring new avenues of collaboration, and addressing challenges, both India and Russia could unlock significant growth potential.
H.E. Mr. Denis Alipov, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India in his address mentioned that this year Russia has brought a large delegation of businesses not only consisting of big business houses but also small and medium businesses in BGBS 2023. Mr. Alipov said that Russia is looking forward to capitalizing on the focus of the Government of West Bengal on MSMEs. This being his first visit to Kolkata, H. E. Mr. Denis Alipov thanked the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry for inviting him to address the Chamber and mentioned that he is highly impressed with the business environment of the city and said that the slogan ‘Bengal means business’ is clearly gaining momentum. He further added that close cooperation between Russian companies and the State in mining is in progress as identified in last year’s BGBS. In West Bengal, Russian-manufactured equipment was being used for underground mining and it was in the areas of MSME that Russia was collaborating with the state.
He pointed out that inspite of there being a significant jump in the trade volume between India and Russia in 2022-23, there is a need to focus on diversifying the areas of cooperation. There are immense prospects for mutual cooperation in areas like energy (including nuclear energy), heavy industry, defense, space, advanced technologies, education, culture, innovation, start-ups, Fintech, etc.
Mr. Alipov said that the Russian market is open for Indian companies to explore investment and bilateral trade opportunities. He suggested that Indian businesses explore automobile, electrical, retail, pharmaceuticals, and hospitality sectors in Russia. He advised companies to get in touch with the Russian Trade office in New Delhi where many Russian companies are searching for Indian tie-ups. Similarly, Russian companies are interested in investing in India’s oil & gas, petrochemicals, metallurgy, agriculture, and ICT sectors.
Mr. Srikant Jain, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Trade, MCCI in his vote of thanks said that India runs a significant trade deficit with Russia and efforts are underway to diversify from traditional sectors such as energy and defense cooperation to newer fields such as Information Technology and infrastructure development.
(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)
