Co-Chairs Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission

A Co-Chairs meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) was held in New Delhi on December 23, 2017. The Indian delegation was led by External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj, while Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr. Dmitry Rogozin represented the Russian side.

Noting the impressive growth of 22% in bilateral trade in the year 2016-17, the Commission assessed the progress on issues concerning the most significant aspects of our bilateral economic cooperation such as trade, economy, investment, industry, energy, transport, agriculture and space. The discussions also brought out action points for both sides, implementation of which would assist in early realization of the full potential of this important relationship.

Some of the concrete outcomes of the Co-Chairs meeting include:

• Raising the level of the Joint Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation to that of Deputy Minister / Commerce Secretary level and creating a mechanism to discuss and remove barriers to trade, if any.
• Creation of a Working Group on Agriculture.
• Creation of a Working Group on Pharmaceuticals.
• Agreement to actively promote inter-regional cooperation which has significant untapped potential for cooperation.
• Decision to expedite implementation of the Green Corridor for exchange of pre-arrival data between Customs Administrations of the two countries.

During his visit, DPM Rogozin also called on Prime Minister and met with Raksha Mantri and National Security Adviser.

New Delhi

December 23, 2017