The First Russia–India Strategic Economic Dialogue Took Place in St. Petersburg
On 25–26 November 2018, the First Russia–India Strategic Economic Dialogue took place in St. Petersburg. The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the National Institute for Transforming India and the Roscongress Foundation organized the event.
Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin, Vice Chairman of the National Institute for Transforming India Rajiv Kumar, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Sergey Gorkov, Vice Rector for Research of the Russian Foreign Trade Academy Pavel Kadochnikov, and Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Russian Federation Bala Venkatesh Varma attended the plenary session.
The meeting focused on the priorities of the economic development of Russia and India, the development strategies of trade, economic and investment cooperation between the two countries, as well as cooperation in banking. In particular, the speakers discussed the prospects for the transition to trade in national currencies and related issues of the development of banking cooperation and payments.
The Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin, read out the welcoming speech of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the guests of the First Russia–India Strategic Economic Dialogue, which in particular says “Symbolically it takes place in the year of the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Trade Agreement between the governments of our countries, which in many ways laid the foundation for bilateral economic cooperation.”
The business programme also included five roundtables on the topics of transport, agriculture, and support for small and medium-sized businesses, digital transformation and industrial cooperation. Experts touched upon issues such as the expansion of transport infrastructure in India with the participation of Russia, issues of access to agricultural markets of the two countries, possible points of interconnection of the National Digital Transformation Programmes of Russia and India, as well as ways to further foster trade between the two countries.
“We hope that this work will result in a series of joint projects as part of India’s national programmes and Russia’s national projects. One area which is clearly ripe for cooperation is digitalization. Russia has a Digital Economy programme, while India has its Digital India, Smart Cities, and Make in India initiatives. There is common ground to be found at the point where all these programmes intersect”, said Maxim Oreshkin during the event.
“The First Russia–India Strategic Economic Dialogue has given a new impulse to the development of bilateral relations, allowing it to expand business ties between Russia and India, as well as launch mutually beneficial joint initiatives,” said Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation.
At the event Rajiv Kumar also accepted an invitation from the SPIEF Organizing Committee that was passed by Maxim Oreshkin. Thus, the bilateral dialogue is to continue at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will take place on 6–8 June 2019.
