India, Russia: interlocking of giant emerging economies

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: construction, road-building, and automation equipment and technologies.

Other sectors that are likely to attract Russian businesses are aircraft manufacturing, IT and farming. Co-operation is already an on-going process in sectors like plant biotechnology, fruit and vegetable processing, livestock breeding, afforestation, the establishment of poultry farms and gardens, construction of irrigation facilities, development of new types of fertilisers and pesticides, production of agricultural machinery, and the creation of new types of agricultural species. The mining sector has possibilities too. An agreement was signed on the establishment of a Russian-Indian venture to produce titanium during President Putin’s visit. The Russian banks and enterprises that will also be involved include Russia’s Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Technochim Holding, and India’s Saraf Agencies Private Ltd. A chemical and metallurgical unit that is to be built in Orissa, will annually produce 40,000 metric tonnes of titanium dioxide, 10,000 metric tonnes of titanium sponge, and 1,08,000 metric tonnes of titanium slag. Russia will hold 55% of the joint venture’s authorised capital and the project could meet 90% of Russia’s total titanium demand. As for the intent of going beyond trade, plain and simple, and concluding an agreement to cooperate in areas of mutual interest, the latter includes numerous new sectors. They are energy, oil and gas, transport, pharma, steel, mining, health and tourism. A bilateral joint study group has also been set up between the trade ministries of the two countries. Its task would be to examine ways to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation and facilitate the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

Moscow seems also to have targeted the tripling of the current levels of trade turnover, a step that clearly flows from the realisation that greater commerce will give a fresh impetus to inter-state relations. (Already, Russia’s trade with China is greater than $20 billion, and it is projected to be at $60 billion in the next five to eight years. A number of European countries that trade with Russia have bilateral transactions that are in excess of India’s by five times, or more.) But Russia needs India: the latter imported $2.99 billion worth from Russia in 2006-07, while it exported only $1.10 billion to it.