Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday described Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov as “dashing” during a light-hearted exchange at the India-Russia Business Dialogue in New Delhi, adding that the Russian minister could soon find himself starring in Bollywood.
“My friend, colleague and the dashing Honourable Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, His Excellency Mr Anton Alekhanov. I was telling him he is probably in the wrong profession. We should expand our audiovisual cooperation. Possibly, we will see him starring in a movie in Bollywood very soon,” Goyal said about Alikhanov at the event held at Bharat Mandapam, as the 18th BRICS Summit gets underway in the national capital.
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The remark came as India and Russia discussed ways to deepen their economic and industrial partnership, with Goyal saying negotiations for a new bilateral investment treaty (BIT) were being fast-tracked.
{{/usCountry}}The remark came as India and Russia discussed ways to deepen their economic and industrial partnership, with Goyal saying negotiations for a new bilateral investment treaty (BIT) were being fast-tracked.
{{/usCountry}}“We (India-Russia) are fast-tracking a new bilateral investment treaty to give investors on both sides the legal certainty that projects and businesses look for when they are finalising investment decisions,” Goyal said.
India-Russia trade push
Goyal also said both countries remained committed to the early conclusion of talks for an India- and Russia-led free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
The five members of the EAEU are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Goyal said the pact would open new markets for industries, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“We continue to strengthen local currency settlement mechanisms, because payment friction, more often than tariffs, is what slows trade down on the ground,” he said.
Goyal called for an accelerated India-Russia economic and industrial partnership and urged businesses from both countries to work towards achieving a target of $100 billion in bilateral trade and $50 billion in two-way investment by 2030, news agency PTI reported.
Bilateral trade currently stands at $60 billion.
BRICS Summit in Delhi
The India-Russia Business Dialogue was held as the BRICS Business Forum got underway in New Delhi ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, scheduled for September 12 and 13.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit to attend the summit and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with trade, investment and energy cooperation expected to be among the areas of discussion.
Putin is accompanied by a high-level delegation. His visit marks his first in-person participation at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira also arrived in New Delhi to attend the summit, representing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who remains in Brazil for his election campaign.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung are among the leaders attending the summit.
(With inputs from PTI)