BackJaishankar calls for early fix to India-Russia trade imbalance
Jaishankar also pointed to food and agricultural exports as a promising area but acknowledged the existence of non-tariff barriers that have stymied trade in these commodities for close to a decade.
PremiumNew Delhi: The imbalance in India-Russia trade needs to be combated on a “very urgent basis", external affairs minister S. Jaishankar warned as two-way trade surged to a record $45 billion between April 2022 and February 2023 on the back of Indian purchases of cheap Russian oil.
“Addressing that imbalance really means addressing the impediments, whether they are market access impediments, whether they are non-tariff barriers, whether they are related to payments or to logistics. I really cannot emphasize this enough," said minister Jaishankar.
He was speaking at an event organized by FICCI on India-Russia economic ties.
The minister called for both sides to work together on payments, logistics and certification measures to allow smoother trade flows.
Speaking alongside Russia’s deputy prime minister Denis Manturov, Jaishankar spoke frankly about Russian businesses having shown an “inadequate appreciation of the concerns and risks that Indian businesses face" in doing business with Russia.
At the same time, India’s foreign minister acknowledged that Indian firms may also suffer from “over-anxiety or even over-caution" when dealing with Russian firms.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has come under sweeping western sanctions, discouraging other countries form doing business.
At the same time, Jaishankar recognized that India needs to expand the range of goods it exports to Russia.
“Apart from traditional exports of pharmaceuticals and organic chemicals, clearly there are possibilities in auto and spare parts, electronic goods and components, medical devices, high efficiency solar PV modules, textile apparel, white boots, leather and ceramics," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar also pointed to food and agricultural exports as a promising area but acknowledged the existence of non-tariff barriers that have stymied trade in these commodities for close to a decade.
He also stated that India and Russia were in advanced discussions on a bilateral investment treaty. Improving connectivity will also be a key focus for New Delhi and Moscow. “There has been some talk, rightly in my opinion, about the importance of connectivity initiatives like the International North South Transport Corridor, as well as the Eastern maritime corridor, the Chennai Vladivostok corridor, and these are being given due consideration," India’s top diplomat said.
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