Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade of the RF V.G.Savelyev took part in the first meeting of the Russian-Indian Joint Study Group on 28 August 2006
Russian-Indian Joint Study Group (JSG) was created according to the decision stated in the Memorandum on Co-operation between the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade of Russia and the Ministry for Commerce and Industry of India signed by the Ministers G.O. Gref and K. Nath on the 6th of February 2006 in New Deli.
The main objective of JSG is to develop by the end of 2006 the Programme for trade and economic co-operation between Russia and India up to 2010 with the aim to boost mutual trade turnover to USD 10 bln, as well as examine advisability of concluding intergovernmental Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
The Russian party within JSG is headed by the President of the Centre of Strategic Research (CSR) M.E. Dmitriev, the Indian party - by the Commerce Secretary S.N. Menon.
In his speech at the meeting V.G. Savelyev noted that both the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade of Russia and the Ministry for Commerce and Industry of India have focused their attention on creating favourable conditions to achieve the USD 10 billion mark in trade by 2010. In this respect the Ministers G.O. Gref and K. Nath have agreed to develop and launch Russian-Indian website devoted to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, to establish an interministerial forum on trade and investments and to examine an opportunity to open Trade Houses of Russia and India. V.G. Savelyev emphasized that the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade of Russia had undertaken important steps aimed at implementation of those objectives. A pilot website as well as a concept of the Russian Trade House in Deli were presented to the meeting participants.
Indian Commerce Secretary S.N.Menon informed the participants, that the Indian party agreed to the proposal put forward by the Minister G.O. Gref to hold the first interministerial forum on trade and investments in Deli in October 2006.
During the JSG meeting the Russian developers of the Programme for trade and economic co-operation development up to 2010 presented their suggestions on the report structure and appendix content. The particular interest was aroused by the results of model forecasts performed by the CSR experts that reflected scientifically verified prospects of Indian-Russian co-operation development in the field of trade and investments.
The main obstacles to boosting trade turnover were named to be informational and administrative barriers, low level of inter-bank co-operation, complications of direct contacts between the two countries' businessmen. The experts agreed that the Appendix to the prepared report should contain the programme of particular actions aimed at removing the above mentioned barriers. Experts emphasized that turnover increase could be achieved only by active usage of market co-operation mechanisms. The Russian party also presented the results of the study of the advisability of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement concluding. It was stated that particular conditions of such an agreement could be reviewed after Russia's accession to WTO.
In the afternoon of 28 August 2006 a Round table "Obstacles to Trade and Economic Ties and Measures to Overcome Them" was held in the Centre of Strategic Research. During the Round table representatives of the Russian and Indian business communities put forward their proposals on improving the mechanism of trade and economic co-operation provision.
From the Russian side in the JSG meeting and the Round table participated: Director of the Department for Foreign Relations of the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade of Russia E.V.Danilova, representatives of the Department for Foreign Relations, Department for Trade Negotiations and Legal Department of the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade of Russia, representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry for Industry and Energy of Russia, Bank of Russia, Vnesheconombank, Russian-Indian Business Council, leading Russian businesses.
