India, Russia aim to boost bilateral trade to $20 billion in 2015

India and Russia are mulling new hi-tech projects, including in the fields of nuclear energy and nano-technology, in an effort to boost their bilateral trade to $20 billion in 2015, nearly tripling the current volume of $7 billion.

Opening the 15th session of India-Russia Inter- governmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation here, Russian vice premier Sergei Sobyanin declared the two nations with trade volume of around $7 billion are confidently moving towards achieving the previously set target of $10 billion in 2010.

From the Indian side, the commission is co-chaired by external affairs minister SM Krishna, who arrived here late last night on a two-day maiden Russia visit, during which he is also scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and call on President Dmitry Medvedev.

The joint protocol of the 15th session signed by Krishna and Sobyanin notes the 'positive trend' in bilateral trade even during the times of current crisis and reflects the readiness of India and Russia to take steps to further boost it up to USD 20 billion mark in 2015.

At the session, the two countries agreed to sign accords on construction of unit 3 and 4 at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu and other sites in India.

An agreement to this effect is expected to be signed during prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Russia in December.

The two sides have also agreed to ink an MoU between Russia's RUSNANO State Corporation and Indian Department of Science and Technology through Nano-Mission of India in February-March 2010, when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India.

The nano-technology MoU would stipulate cooperation on the model of Inventor-Investor, with clearly defined scope.

With the aim to transfer knowledge into wealth, the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) has also recommended early signing of a related MoU and launching of innovation-led mega R and D programme and technology partnership between the Department of Science and Technology and Russian Federal Agency for Science and Innovation.

India and Russia have also agreed to extend their integrated long-term programme (ILTP) of scientific and technological cooperation by another 10 years and launched the preparations for its formal signing next year.

Signed in the last days of USSR by then prime mMinister Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, ILTP is widely seen as a conduit of transfer of cutting-edge technology through joint research and redevelopment projects involving thousands of scientists working in the elite research centres of the two nations.

As a spin-off of ILTP, the Indian CSIR and St Petersburg-based Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute have already signed an MoU on developing 'Ga-As' solar energy chip in September last. Power, including nuclear energy, oil and gas, space telecommunications, metallurgy, auto and aircraft manufacturing industries have been identified as some of the few sectors, where the two nations have agreed to further intensify their interaction.

At the session, both sides raised the issues faced by their companies in India and Russia and agreed to resolve them, including the streamlined system of work permits for the Indian employees of ONGC, which has acquired latest oil assets in Tomsk region of Russia in Western Siberia.

The Joint Task Force co-headed by the commerce secretary from the Indian side has been asked to work out the amicable solutions to the problems and issue recommendations aimed at avoiding such problems in future.