नवीनतम
Russia has been India's 'Sukh Dukh Ka Saathi': Goyal
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: After a "productive" meeting with Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, speaking at the India-Russia Business Forum in New Delhi on Thursday stated that Russia has always been "India's Sukh Dukh Ka Saathi" (a companion in both good and bad times).
"India-Russia trade has made remarkable strides, with volumes nearing USD 70 billion, yet immense potential remains untapped, as India's share in Russia's imports is still under two percent, a figure that does not capture the true ambition of our partnership. Our shared focus is to foster more balanced and mutually rewarding trade, aiming to exceed USD 100 billion by 2030, driven by stronger Indian exports. We see particularly promising avenues for collaboration in consumer goods, food and agriculture, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, telecom and electronics, industrial components, and the mobility of skilled talent," ANI quoted Goyal as saying at the business forum.
The India-Russia Business Forum, graced by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, Maxim Oreshkin, as the keynote speaker, was organised around the theme "Sell to Russia" and focused on pathways to expand India's exports to the Russian market, with the objective of achieving more balanced bilateral trade, generating new opportunities for business and investment, and promoting shared, sustainable growth in both economies.
Piyush Goyal and Maxim Oreshkin led the thematic session. Rajiv Ranjan Singh, the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajesh Agrawal, Commerce Secretary, Amit Agrawal, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, NS Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, and other senior officials from the Government of India were part of the gathering.
The Russian side was represented by Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development, Oksana Lut, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Maksut Shadayev, Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media and Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Senior business leaders from both sides who took part in detailed discussions that covered sectors such as energy, minerals, engineering goods, automobiles and transport equipment, agriculture and food processing, pharmaceuticals, information technology, digital services and financial solutions.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks, Goyal noted that "no matter how low the temperature dips during the Russian winter, the India-Russia friendship will always remain full of warmth."
Recalling the first summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin in 2014, Goyal said that during that meeting, the two leaders had set a target of achieving USD 30 billion in bilateral trade by 2025.
Goyal noted that the target has already been achieved and, in fact, India and Russia today have twice that level of trade. He emphasised that while reaching USD 70 billion is a significant milestone, the current pattern of trade needs to be more balanced.
He stressed the need to bring greater diversity into the bilateral trade basket, both in terms of products and sectors, to ensure more equitable and sustainable growth.
