Russia's Deputy PM promises to remove red tape for Indian businesses, exports

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz Russia has acknowledged that red tape and bureaucracy are hurdles in improving trade ties with India and has promised to assist Indian businessmen in helping expand their presence in Russia.

Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (Pic. Source - Russian Government)

Speaking at the 8th India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment in New Delhi today, Dmitry Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, said that the “Make in India” programme is a patriotic move and added that there is scope to improve cooperation between the two countries in manufacturing, particularly in the small and medium enterprises segment. Rogozin also said that the Russian government will take all necessary steps to help Indian businesses begin and expand operations in Russia. He said, “We will give personal assistance to every case to solve any bureaucratic problems.” The India-Russia Forum was organised by India’s Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. While bilateral ties between Russia and India have traditionally been strong, trade between the two remains below potential. This is partly due to stringent procedures in exporting to Russia and Russia’s earlier dependence on European countries.

Source - International Trade Centre

  However, Russia is increasingly looking to boost trade ties with India after the Ukraine crisis. Last month, Russian officials said that the country is keen to import more food products from India and will help resolve phyto-sanitary concerns by December 2014. Along with Dmitry Rogozin’s visit, the ongoing visit of a delegation of around 100 Russian companies in India is expected to give a fillip to business cooperation and bilateral trade in various sectors. According to the CII, there is potential to improve India-Russia commercial collaboration in manufacturing, defence, aerospace, pharmaceutical industry, IT and ITeS. Dmitry Rogozin also represented Russia in the 20th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) yesterday. In the meeting, Russia agreed to set up a Joint Study Group to negotiate the proposed trade agreement between India and the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Rogozin also announced a joint cooperation between India’s National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Russia’s ACRON for development of potassium and magnesium deposits in Talitsky mine in Perm region of Russia and Partomchorr apatite-nepheline ore deposit (Murmansk region).

This article was published on November 6, 2014.