India is expecting Russian investments and prepares good conditions for them
Bright star of cooperation
By Konstantin volkov
The Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation, Venkatesh Varma, told Rossiskaya Gazeta about the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister of India to Russia, about the best anti-aircraft system in the world, and also about great expectations from business cooperation with Russia.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in early September. What documents may be signed during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok?
- We are awaiting the visit of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, at the invitation of President Putin, to Russia as an honored guest at the Fifth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, which will be held on September 4-5, 2019. There, Prime Minister Modi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a bilateral summit and also in the framework of the Forum. These meetings will promote Indian-Russian relations to a new level and expand the privileged strategic partnership that exists between India and Russia. Besides, the Prime Minister will take part in the signing of important documents that will take the relations of our countries to a new level. I also want to draw attention to the fact that the participation of Prime Minister Modi in the EEF shows how much importance India attaches to its interaction with Russia in the Far East.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: The Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, accompanied by the Chief Ministers of the five Indian states, will visit Vladivostok on August 11-13. What is the purpose of the visit?
- Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, as well as five chief ministers of laRossiskaya Gazetae Indian states intend to visit Vladivostok from August 11 to 13. This is a preparatory trip before the EEF. During the very successful visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government, Yuri Trutnev, to India in June this year, a decision was made on closer cooperation, as well as on assistance and support in oRossiskaya Gazetaanizing a major meeting in Vladivostok in early August. It was thanks to the help of Mr. Trutnev and his team, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Far East Investment and Export Agency, that the upcoming visit of Piyush Goyal and five ministers was oRossiskaya Gazetaanized, in which more than 150 businessmen from India are planning to participate. The purpose of the trip is to sign a laRossiskaya Gazetae number of memoranda of understanding between the states of India and the regions of the Russian Far East. We also want to hold meetings between Indian and Russian companies so that they can establish contacts and then develop cooperation. It is the first time in the history of Indian foreign policy that this number of leaders of Indian states visit another country all together during a business trip. We expect that with the participation of Mr. Trutnev and Mr. Goyal we will get concrete results for the Forum in Vladivostok.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: What agreements are expected to be concluded during the visit of the Minister of Commerce and Industry and what sectors do they relate to?
- Mainly memoranda of understanding will be signed there, as this is a preliminary meeting. The main documents, there are more than 10 of them, are planned to be signed during the summit in Vladivostok in the framework of the EEF.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: Could the visit to Vladivostok be considered as a demonstration of the increase of the region to region cooperation between India and Russia?
- Yes, the emphasis of the EEF summit is planned to focus on the Russian Far East. We will try to help the regions in promoting cooperation. Moreover, by the end of the year, an Indian-Russian meeting on region to region cooperation is expected, where the topic of contacts between the regions of our countries will also be raised.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: Leaders of Russia and India set the goal of increasing India-Russia bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2025. Starting from 2017 we can actually see the positive dynamics in achieving this goal. How could this goal be achieved?
- In 2018, the trade turnover increased by 12 percent. Plus, we have a number of proposals for the development of trade, including to remove commodity barriers, increase investment, find new areas of cooperation, as well as to support companies using the North-South transport corridor. All these issues have already been discussed during the recent visit of Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov to India, where he met with our Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is also the Co-Chair of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission. Borisov and Jaishankar agreed to meet again at the end of the year in Delhi at a meeting of the joint commission.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: What is meant by «commodity barriers»?
- For example, there are products that Russia wants to export to India, but is faces some difficulties in the Indian market. We intend to understand how this situation can be improved. And sometimes there are similar situations faced by Indian exporters when they want to supply rice, fruit or dairy products to the Russian market. Although such problems are rare, it’s important to understand how they can be completely eliminated
Rossiskaya Gazeta: Youʾve mentioned the increased investment. What needs to be done to attract Russian investments to India and Indian investments to Russia?
- It is very important that the business communities of both countries know about each other. Russia has already made a number of major investments in India, especially in the eneRossiskaya Gazetay sector. In the same way, India invested in Russian eneRossiskaya Gazetay. There are other areas, for example, military, transport, creation of new aircraft and seagoing vessels, pharmaceuticals, regional projects, including in the Far East. And we see a huge potential here in timber, paper, mining, agricultural and dairy products. In 2018, India reached the highest rate of foreign direct investment in history, that is 64.37 billion dollars. The Indian side is ready to accept Russian investments and provide the Russian side with the best conditions for their growth.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: As far as the enegry is concerned, how is cooperation between Russia and India in the nuclear field being developed?
- This is one of the brightest stars in the cooperation of our countries. Earlier, we signed an agreement on the construction of six power units of the Kudankulam NPP in southern India. This is the laRossiskaya Gazetaest nuclear project in India, which is supported by a foreign partner. 1st nd 2nd power units at Kudankulam are already operating. The 3rd and 4th power units are now being built, almost on schedule. Currently, sites are being prepared for the construction of 5th and 6th power supply units. After the completion of construction and the start of work of all six units, the construction of another power unit is planned. India and Russia cooperate in the nuclear field not only at the bilateral level, but also in third countries, for example, at the Ruppur NPP in Bangladesh, and our joint potential for cooperation in third countries is huge.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: Last year you said that the current goal in the India-Russia relations is to go beyond the seller-buyer format and to begin the joint development and production. What has been achieved in this regard?
- India and Russia have long-term defense relations based on mutual trust and confidence in each other, which is very rare in today's world. We have a program “Make Military Products in India,” and we invite Russian companies to produce a part of their products in our country for sale in India, as well as in the markets of the third countries. We look forward to signing a very significant agreement at the summit in Vladivostok that will further improve relations between our countries in the field of defense. It will allow the Indian and Russian military to gain access to each other's military bases. Besides, we are talking about mutual logistic support to the military of the two countries. There is also another task - to eliminate the difficulties in the supply of spare parts for military equipment. This can be done in many ways. For example, the Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifle factory; plans for its construction in India were announced in April this year. These modern weapons will be supplied to the Indian armed forces, as well as exported to Third countries.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: The contract for the supply of five regiments of the Triumph S-400 anti-aircraft missile system for more than $ 5 billion rubles was concluded last year. How is the deal being implemented?
- We are confident that the fulfillment of contractual obligations will continue in accordance with the provisions of the document, and we have no doubt that the S-400 is the best anti-aircraft missile system in the world. India is glad to have S-400, made in Russia, in its armed forces.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: What are the common interests of India and Russia in international sphere and what are the differences in this regard?
- India and Russia have interests both on the Eurasian continent, and in the seas and oceans washing the continent. Both countries are interested in upholding international law, the UN Charter, in a multi-polar world, and also in resolving international problems, and reformation of international trade rules through dialogue and consultation. We also have common position against terrorism. Our position is the same in regard to the role that such important oRossiskaya Gazetaanizations as the SCO, BRICS and RIC can play in the international system. As far as the disagreements are concerned, I would say that we do not have them, except there are some nuances in certain issues, but they are usually discussed in a friendly manner, which can only happen between old trusted friends who adhere to strategic partnerships. The Indian Minister of External Affairs, who will visit Moscow at the end of August, follows the same approach. During the visit, he is intending to meet with Russian Minister of External Affairs SeRossiskaya Gazetaey Lavrov. We are confident that during this visit, India and Russia will be able to have various opportunities for cooperation on the international scene, including the situation in Afghanistan, Syria, the Middle East as a whole, as well as in areas where India and Russia have common interests. This refers to ASEAN, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Rossiskaya Gazeta: The Indian Ocean is considered to be one of the main world zones, over which influence there is going to be a fight in the 21st century. In 2015, Prime Minister Modi announced the formation of a SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) strategy, based on the non-Western concept of state interaction, the so-called “Raj Dharma”, according to which instead of fighting for influence the countries perform the functions destined for them. Is there any progress in implementation of this principle, that is new for international policy?
- India is a country with a very long coastline, we are an ancient sea power. We consider the Indian Ocean not only as our security zone, but more importantly, it is a zone of our culture and our civilization, which influenced the development of Southeast Asia, the islands of the Indian Ocean, and the east coast of Africa. The concept of integration and connectivity is aimed not only at creating new infrastructure ties, but also at restoring ancient civilization ties. Therefore, our Prime Minister emphasized the concept of SAGAR, it means security and development for all regions. We also believe that India and Russia share common interests: the rule of law, transport accessibility, integration, peace, security, development and stability for all. This is consistent with the principles of Eurasian integration, as well as with the interests of the integration of the Indo-Pacific region. And the most important thing is that neither Russia nor India will accept the Western concept of interaction, because they do not want to implement at home what is being forcibly proposed by the other side. But we are open to dialogue with everyone. Russia has interests in the Indo-Pacific integration space. At the same time, the interests of Russia and India do not contradict, but rather complement each other in the Indian Ocean.
In conclusion, I would like to convey our best wishes to the editors and employees of Rossiskaya Gazeta, as well as to all readers of the newspaper, and especially to
