India and Russia Agree On Negotiations For FTA

India and Russia Agree On Negotiations For FTA: 20th Session of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission

India and Russia have just moved forward on negotiations for FTA or free trade agreement between India and the Customs Unions of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Hindu has indicated that this agreement is the first of the FTA negotiations initiated by the Modi government and discussed by Russia’s Deputy PM Rogozin, and MEA Minister Sushma Swaraj. The deliberations were held during the 20th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission/IRIGC in New Delhi.

About the IRIGC

The India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation supervises 20 working groups which control trade, scientific, economic, technological and cultural cooperation.

Proceedings of the IRIGC Session

Major decisions taken during the 20th session of the IRIGC include as follows. The proposals for the establishment of a Smart City in India has also been agreed by the Russian firm Sistema. Joint cooperation will be conducted between the two countries for the development of potassium and magnesium deposits in Russia. Another project will also be put in place for launching telecommunications satellites “NextStar” in earth’s geostationary orbit on low cost platforms as well as projects in the field of high end computing. The focus is largely on boosting economic cooperation between the two nations.

The eight Indian session for the India-Russia Forum for Trade and Investments was also co-chaired by Rogozin. This is the active business forum between the two nations. Minister of State for Commerce & Industries Nirmala Sitharaman was also present during the proceedings. Rogozin also called on the India’s PM, Narendra Modi during his visit. India and Russia are now jointly repairing for coming visits of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian president Vladimir Putin for the December 15th Annual Indian-Russia Summit. More deals in energy, oil and defence will also be signed during Putin’s visit.

Progress on a massive spectrum of bilateral issues comprise trade, economic, technological, scientific and cultural cooperation and proposed actions for realisation of the complete potential of this relationship. The Commission has also taken outstanding issues into account and recommended resolution of issues. During the proceedings, a Joint Study Group has also been formed for the proposed agreement between Russia and India with respect to trade in goods and services. Efforts are also on to manage the momentum of cooperation in important priority areas such as coking coal, fertilisers, mining, civil aviation, hydrocarbons, infrastructure and trade in rough diamonds.

Other key decisions taken included establishment of a smart city and agreements between companies for providing telecom satellites on low budget platforms. Major projects included proposals for establishment of 200-250 MW power plant at Ulan-Ude by BHEL, as well as establishment of a JV in India for production of CRGO grade steel by the RINL or Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd in association with M/s NLMK of the Russian Federation. A proposal has also been set up for the establishment of the Joint Supercomputer Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences as well as collaboration in areas such as High Performance Computing and transfer of technology.