NEW DELHI, January 8Moscow and New Delhi are aimed at diversifying bilateral trade, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said at a conference of the Valdai Club and the Vivekananda Foundation.
«We are aimed at diversifying bilateral trade and correcting its huge imbalances, creating favorable conditions in the field of mutual settlements, payment systems, insurance, logistics and stimulating further business ties, inviting Indian private companies to explore the capacious Russian market and exploit its untapped potential «, he said.
The Vivekananda International Foundation is a New Delhi-based think tank formed by leading Indian security experts, diplomats and philanthropists. Its mission is to develop innovative approaches to India's security and welfare that will enable it to play a worthy role in world affairs.
As Alipov noted, last year the volume of trade between the countries reached an unprecedented 54 billion dollars, which placed Russia among India's four largest trading partners.
In addition, new incentives are expected for the implementation of the international North-South transport corridor, the Vladivostok-Chennai sea route and the “very interesting for India” section of the Northern Sea Route, the ambassador added.
“Despite difficult circumstances, Russian-Indian relations remain multifaceted and strong. There is no doubt that they will continue to grow, based on unambiguous mutual interest and trust, contributing to a common vision of a fairer international order,” the diplomat emphasized.
According to him, the main goal is to explore ways to use the accumulated momentum within new mechanisms to support emerging opportunities for cooperation and achieve a new level of bilateral ties.
The Valdai Discussion Club and the Vivekananda Foundation are participating in the conference leading experts. Thus, India will be represented by the Ambassador to Russia in 2018-2021, Honorary Fellow of the International Vivekananda Foundation Venkatesh Varma, Chairman of the National Security Advisory Council Pundi S. Raghavan, former Deputy National Security Advisor, Ambassador to Russia in 2016-2018 Pankaj Saran; ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kanwal Sibal and others.
From the Russian side, the conference will be attended, in particular, by the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the International Discussion Club «Valdai» Andrei Bystritsky, the foundation's director for scientific work Fedor Lukyanov, the club's program director Valdai Ivan Timofeev and Ambassador to India Denis Alipov.