Russian Trade Commissioner Alexander Rybas. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Marking the 70th anniversary of commercial ties, Russia and India will launch major energy initiatives and a business club to connect big business houses on both sides more closely, Russian Trade Commissioner Alexander Rybas has said.

In a written interview to The Hindu, Mr. Rybas, who is the highest ranking Russian trade representative in India, said withdrawal of western companies from Russia had opened opportunities for Indian pharmaceutical, energy, and food industries in Russia and that the fertilizer sector was one of the priorities for both sides.

“This year, further petrochemical conversion will be launched at Nayara Energy, which has a Russian share. In our case, in the context of the development of Russian-Indian business relations, against the background of the withdrawal of some Western companies from the Russian market, prospects are opening up for Indian businesses to occupy vacant niches in various industries, including oil production, pharmaceuticals, chemical and food industries, diamond-cutting industry and other sectors,” Mr. Rybas said, highlighting that Indian investments in Russia at present exceeded $14 billion and “continues to rise”.

Post-1947 India’s commercial ties with Moscow were kickstarted in 1953 when the first trade agreement between the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Government of India was signed.

“The Russian Federation, as a state, is the internationally recognised successor of the USSR,” Mr. Rybas said, arguing that the two sides had recently  taken major strides in the industrial sector like the Russian company NLMK’s transformer steel production unit in Maharashtra and the order for 120 Vande Bharat trains given to Metrowagonmash Mytischi.  

He further mentioned a Russia-India (Reliance-Sibur) plant for the production of butyl rubber and halobutyl rubber that has come up in Gujarat where high-quality raw material for tyres are being manufactured.

While India-Russia energy trade has increased dramatically since the beginning of the Ukraine war in 2022, the business environment between the two countries was also shadowed by the prospects of western sanctions.

Mr. Rybas dismissed the possibility that western sanctions could hurt bilateral business between Russia and India and  observed that the sanctions had in fact opened an area of opportunity between Indian and Russian industrial sectors.

”The current geopolitical situation has influenced global supply chains, payment settlement systems, logistics, the implementation of bilateral and multilateral projects. At the same time, it served as an incentive for the formation of new logistics routes and alternative payment mechanisms,” he said.  

The prospects of bilateral trade was discussed during the 24th India-Russia Inter Governmental Commission meeting on April 17 here which was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry of Russia. 

Russian diamonds with Indian cuts

Mr. Rybas said the fertilizer sector provided an area of cooperation between India’s agriculture sector and Russian producers.

“I know that many Russian and Indian companies have signed long-term contracts for the supply of fertilizers in demand in India. Cooperation in this industry is one of the priorities for our countries. There are all the prerequisites for further growth,” he said.

He also argued that the diamond sector of India had not been affected by the sanctions on the Russian diamond industry and  said, “It is significant that even now half of the world wears Russian diamonds with Indian cut.”