NEW DELHI: Eight governors from Russia will be taking part in the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit that begins on January 10 and concludes on January 12 in Gandhinagar. Russia is among the 25 nations that have agreed to be a partner country for the summit.
"The Russian governors will land in Delhi on January 8th and later head for Gandhinagar to attend the summit. India and Russia are strategic partners and bilateral relations between the two nations have been on the ascendancy despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine," said a source.
Twenty-five countries have given their consent as partners for the upcoming summit (out of which 21 have given consent in writing while four including Russia have given verbal acceptance), said senior Gujarat minister Rushikesh Patel. He added that the summit will give the participants a chance to explore all the sectors they could invest in. Gujarat is hoping to receive investments worth Rs 3.37 lakh crore through this summit.
With robust bilateral trade which reached $49.36 billion in 2022-23, and an increase of 161.22 per cent increase during the first six months of the ongoing financial year, the two nations have set a bilateral investment target at $50 billion by 2025.
Earlier this month (December 4th), Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov met with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar and spoke about strengthening cooperation with Gujarat.
"Gujarat plays an important role in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project. Given the state’s 1600 km coastline and maritime transportation capacity this route can be developed by India and Russia along with other nations in Central Asia to move goods," Patel had said after meeting Ambassador Alipov.
Patel also urged Russia to consider setting up an educational research institute in GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec City). It is learnt that some Russian companies have already applied for licences for different segments in GIFT City. It may be noted that the upcoming Summit is seeking further investments in the GIFT City which is being promoted as Asia’s newest financial hub.
Ambassador Alipov also discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in trade, industrial production, infrastructure and education with Gujarat.
Russia in the past had invested in a butyl rubber facility in Jamnagar, a joint venture between Reliance and Sibur (Russian petrochemical company). Russia’s Roseneft is the largest shareholder of Nayara Energy -- in 2017 they had invested nearly $13 billion.
India and Russia are strategic partners. Even though the India Russia Annual Summit has not taken place for two years, due to the Ukraine conflict and the sanctions that followed, the two nations have continued to cooperate. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on an official visit to Russia at present and during his interaction with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov, discussions will take place on increasing trade in national currencies and furthering investments.