IT is Where Indo-Russian Interests Meet: Putin
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V Putin on Saturday said that there was great potential for Indian and Russia to jointly develop and market software in third world countries.
Dec 05, 2004
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V Putin on Saturday said that there was great potential for Indian and Russia to jointly develop and market software in third world countries.
Calling for stepping up of Indo-Russian co-operation in the information technology sector, Mr Putin said both India and Russia could jointly market new hi-tech projects.
Addressing an interactive business meeting organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and FICCI here, he said the Indo-Russian roundtable on IT held in Bangalore on Saturday would help in deepening the co-operation in the information technology sector. He said Russia's software exports is about US $500 million compared to India's US $12.5 billion and Moscow has invited Indian IT service providers to leverage the engineering talent in Russia for building software for the world. The present volume of trade between India and Russia which was US $2 billion was not satisfactory, he said and added that the potential has to be tapped in full measure. He stressed the need for both nations to set clear objectives in areas including IT, telecom, electronics, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy among others.
He said Bangalore has become symbol of new, vibrant and growing economy of India which is open to the world with hi-tech and competitive products. India has the experience of establishing special economic zones, while in Russia such methods as also the need to give preferential treatment was under discussion, but India has benefited from these special zones, he said.
The Russian President said that the trade balance that had been accumulated could be used for investment in joint ventures between India and Russia in important projects in India.
He said the business community of Russia and India knew each other well and there were no differences in the two counties in political matters which provided an excellent opportunity to enhance the volume of trade.
Mr Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation in his address said that hi-tech was the most promising area to increase bi-lateral trade.
He said the investment climate in Russia was very favourable and the country was open to foreign investment in all spheres. He hoped that Russia would attract Indian investors. Mr Zhukov said it was important to establish the correct credit arrangement for development of trade between the two countries. Russian banks were gaining recognition for their reliability, besides Indian banks were coming to Russia and two major Indian banks were registered in Russia recently.
Chief Minister Dharam Singh, who spoke on the occasion said that the current bilateral trade between India and Russia was not a true reflection of the immense potential for trade relations between the two countries.
Mr Singh recalled that Karnataka has an existing MoU with the Samara region of Russia for co-operation in the areas of trade, culture and tourism and hoped that similar MoUs would be extended to other potential regions of the Russian Federation.
CII President Sunil Kant Munjal, suggesting a seven-point action agenda, said the two countries must develop a platform for information sharing and need to identify and explore joint investments in core sectors.
BANGALORE, DHNS
Calling for stepping up of Indo-Russian co-operation in the information technology sector, Mr Putin said both India and Russia could jointly market new hi-tech projects.
Addressing an interactive business meeting organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and FICCI here, he said the Indo-Russian roundtable on IT held in Bangalore on Saturday would help in deepening the co-operation in the information technology sector. He said Russia's software exports is about US $500 million compared to India's US $12.5 billion and Moscow has invited Indian IT service providers to leverage the engineering talent in Russia for building software for the world. The present volume of trade between India and Russia which was US $2 billion was not satisfactory, he said and added that the potential has to be tapped in full measure. He stressed the need for both nations to set clear objectives in areas including IT, telecom, electronics, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy among others.
He said Bangalore has become symbol of new, vibrant and growing economy of India which is open to the world with hi-tech and competitive products. India has the experience of establishing special economic zones, while in Russia such methods as also the need to give preferential treatment was under discussion, but India has benefited from these special zones, he said.
The Russian President said that the trade balance that had been accumulated could be used for investment in joint ventures between India and Russia in important projects in India.
He said the business community of Russia and India knew each other well and there were no differences in the two counties in political matters which provided an excellent opportunity to enhance the volume of trade.
Mr Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation in his address said that hi-tech was the most promising area to increase bi-lateral trade.
He said the investment climate in Russia was very favourable and the country was open to foreign investment in all spheres. He hoped that Russia would attract Indian investors. Mr Zhukov said it was important to establish the correct credit arrangement for development of trade between the two countries. Russian banks were gaining recognition for their reliability, besides Indian banks were coming to Russia and two major Indian banks were registered in Russia recently.
Chief Minister Dharam Singh, who spoke on the occasion said that the current bilateral trade between India and Russia was not a true reflection of the immense potential for trade relations between the two countries.
Mr Singh recalled that Karnataka has an existing MoU with the Samara region of Russia for co-operation in the areas of trade, culture and tourism and hoped that similar MoUs would be extended to other potential regions of the Russian Federation.
CII President Sunil Kant Munjal, suggesting a seven-point action agenda, said the two countries must develop a platform for information sharing and need to identify and explore joint investments in core sectors.
BANGALORE, DHNS