Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has said that India and Russia need to make concerted efforts to reinvigorate economic cooperation and integrate it with market forces. Addressing a joint meeting of Indian and Russian businessmen in Moscow, Dr. Singh said, While the political responsibility for expanding ties with other countries is the primary task of governments, business to business relations have become a critical element in the overall architecture of interaction between countries”.
The Prime Minister outlined joint financing of Indo-Russian projects and development of relationships between financial institutions as the directions for future growth. He said that the bilateral trade level of $1.9 billion does not correspond with the potential of the two economies and the strategic partnership.
Dr Singh stated,” The global and bilateral environment has now changed. The economies of Russia and India have registered GDP growth rates of about 7% in recent years. New potential areas of growth have emerged in both economies and new areas of bilateral cooperation have opened up. Structural reforms in both economies and advances in science and technology have given our respective economies new strengths and capabilities which we should seek to exploit for mutual benefit.
There is need to not only stem the decline in trade in traditional items like tea, tobacco, textiles and leather, but to also expand the trade basket to include value added items in areas of applied technologies, information technology, telecommunications, automobile components, gems and jewellery, and energy. With our vast resource base and intellectual capital, India and Russia should jointly explore avenues for generating and meeting demands on a regional and global basis.”
