THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Urging Indian businessmen to strengthen trade with Russia, former chief general manager of SBI, S Adikesavan, said trade in ruble and rupee will help India reduce the dependency on US dollars.
He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Trade between India and Russia in local currencies' organised jointly by the Honorary Consulate of the Russian Federation, Russian House in Thiruvananthapuram and the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Adikesavan said Indo-Russian trade has shown an increase after the sanctions imposed on Russia. He suggested that Russian banks in India should open vostro accounts to catalyse the ruble-rupee trade.
In his address, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Raghuchandran Nair said that both countries should use the ruble-rupee transaction to strengthen bilateral tourism.
“Though both countries enjoy time-tested friendship, tourism between us still needs to be strengthened, and the transaction between the business communities in the local currencies will go a long way in cementing this ties,” said Nair.
Nikita Zhavchkin, head of Corporate and Financial Institutions, SBER Bank in India, and Abhinav Grover, senior client relations manager of the Bank in India, explained the services offered by the bank in India.
Ratheesh C Nair, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation and Director of the Russian House in Thiruvananthapuram, said entrepreneurs from the tourism industry in Kerala would be able to open accounts with SBER BANK during the upcoming Indo-Russian Travel and Tourism Fair.
Baby Mathew, president of the Kerala Travel Mart and Chairman and Managing Director of Somatheeram group of companies, handed over the documents to Zhavchkin to open the first account on behalf of the business communities in Kerala.