Indian Companies Can Fill the Niche Left by Western Brands in Russia
India-Russia trade hit a record high in 2022-23. Trade has traditionally been driven by defence, civil nuclear and space cooperation, with energy cooperation emerging as another key pillar last year.
SputnikNew Delhi and Moscow have expressed confidence that diversification and expansion of bilateral trade will be driven by the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the two countries.
“It is on this segment that the stability of bilateral trade and economic cooperation and the prospects for its diversification largely depend,” Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RF CCI), told the India-Russia Business Forum in New Delhi.
Katyrin is leading a business delegation of 120 Russian entrepreneurs, representing more than 90 companies from 30 regions of Russia. More than 60 companies from 27 regions, which are part of the delegation, fall under the category of MSME.
The Russian companies held business-to-business (B-2-B) meetings with their Indian counterparts to explore avenues of cooperation on Wednesday.
Industries such as chemicals, pharmaceutical, Information and Technology (IT), engineering, automotive and innovative technologies were represented at the event.
Speaking at the forum, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov described the pharmaceutical sector as one of the “most promising” areas of trade cooperation between the two countries.
New Delhi ranks as the biggest exporter of generic drugs in the world.
RF CCI Inks MoU with FICCI
The RF CCI also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s top trade and advocacy group Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday.
A FICCI representative told Sputnik at the signing ceremony that the MoU was aimed at helping Russian businesses to “develop better trade relations” with India.
“We also want the bilateral relations to get much better between the two countries. And we want to become the single point of contact for them to work in the Indian market,” said Pradeep Sreedharan, the Chairman of Verkko Management Consultants Private Limited
The Indian businessman expressed confidence that authorities in both India and Russia would support the businesses to scale the $50 billion annual trade target this year.
During the ongoing visit of the business delegation, the Russian Chamber also inaugurated the office of the honorary representative in India, a step aimed at achieving "qualitative" improvement in trade through connecting businesses in the two countries.
Western Embargo Created Huge Opportunities for Indian Companies in Russia
Giving a sense of opportunities available for Indian investors in Russia, a Russian business delegate underscored that there were many opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses as many western brands had left the country since last year.
“The Russian business delegation is looking for opportunities for collaboration in almost every sector, be it textiles, spare parts or the construction industry,” Evegny Arakcheev, the Commercial Director of Newton Insulation, told Sputnik at the forum.
He said that the company was also trying to introduce its insulation coating products in the Indian market.
“Russia is technologically very advanced and that holds true for any sector. Indian customers and businesses can derive many benefits,” Arakcheev reckoned.
He said that both countries have a strong “historical basis” for consolidating trade ties, as he recalled that Moscow has been a firm backer of India’s industrialization process between Independence in 1947 till the end of the Cold War.
He also underscored that there were already “some signs” of the Rupee-Rouble trade picking up in certain sectors. “I think that multilateral organizations such as BRICS will also actively look to promote trade in local currencies,” stated the Russian delegate.