Russian deputy PM will visit on June 18 to boost bilateral trade, investment

The visit comes at a time when there is a feeling in New Delhi and Moscow that the bilateral relationship needs a boost in terms of trade and investment.

Published on: Jun 16, 2019, 09:26:32 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Rezaul H Laskar

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Russian deputy prime minister Yury Trutnev will visit New Delhi on June 18 to explore opportunities for India’s participation in developing the resource-rich Far East and Arctic regions, people familiar with developments said.

Trutnev, the Russian president’s special envoy for the Far Eastern federal district, will take forward discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek on June 13 about cooperating in the region rich in oil, gas, minerals and timber.

The visit comes at a time when there is a feeling in New Delhi and Moscow that the bilateral relationship needs a boost in terms of trade and investment. Military-technical cooperation remains robust but trade has stagnated at around $10 billion for the past few years. India’s participation in developing Russia’s Far East figured in talks between Modi and Putin on the margins of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, and the Indian side said business delegations and state representatives will visit the region to identify opportunities.

Russia’s easternmost region stretches from Siberia to the Pacific Ocean and is estimated to have 10 to 14 billion tonnes of oil and 14 to 15 trillion cubic meters of gas. A consortium of Indian oil companies acquired a 49.9% stake in Vankor oilfield in Siberia for $4.2 billion in 2016 and the two sides are in negotiations for other oilfields in the region.

“A new area of focus identified by (Modi and Putin) is Arctic region oil and gas. This is an area where we feel we should engage further, and we have already begun that engagement – a delegation from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas had discussions with the Russian side last month,” foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said, adding that the two sides will also look at using skilled Indian manpower to develop the Far East region.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More