India and Russia have vowed to increase the bilateral trade between them to $20 billion by 2015, while agreeing to start negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to boost trade and investments. This was decided during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and his Russian counterpart, Victor Kristeno, on the sidelines of the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“We are looking at achieving $20 billion bilateral trade by 2015 and this should receive a significant boost once we start negotiations towards having a Cepa soon,” Sharma told Business Standard after the meeting.
Both countries decided to seek greater cooperation mainly in areas such as pharmaceuticals, science and technology and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Trade between the countries currently stands at around $8 billion. Sharma also said India and Russia would soon create a joint group for pharmaceuticals that would facilitate export of generic drugs from India to Russia. He also expressed interest in Russia’s natural resources such as oil, metals and fertilisers, as well as biotechnology, nanotechnology and research. “One-fourth of the world’s generic drugs are produced in India,” Sharma said.
A high-level meeting between Indian industry, led by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Russian businessmen was held after the bilateral meet.
Representatives from CII demanded greater participation in the SME segment, which forms the country’s industrial backbone, and easier visa norms.