The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a MoU with the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The MoU signals a new partnership between the two chambers to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation between India and Russia.

The MoU was signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) which is being held in St. Petersburg, Russia from June 18-20, 2015.

A CII CEOs delegation led by Sumit Mazumder, President, CII comprising of leading Indian companies is participating at SPIEF and at the India Russia Business Roundtable.

The CII CEOs Delegation also interacted with Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (IC) during their visit. The members shared their experience at SPIEF and also discussed the potential for collaboration with their Russian counterparts.

The CII President highlighted the immense opportunity that SPIEF offers for Indian businessmen to network with their Russian counterparts and understand the dynamics of the Russian market. He said that every year new companies from India join the delegation to explore business opportunities.

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII stated that CII is working closely with its partner institutions in Russia to bolster trade and commerce and SPIEF provides an excellent platform. He further added that CII will explore bringing sectoral delegations to Russia and to the regions.

Members of the delegation who shared their business interests and activities in Russia included Essar, Sun Group, Dr Reddys Labs, L&T, Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals, Asia Motor Works, M3M, Innovest India, among others.

Some of the issues raised the meeting included the possibility of Rupee-Rouble trade, financing for oil trade, barter trade in commodities etc.

The Commerce Minister highlighted the efforts being taken by the government to address these issues with the Russian government. She stated that the Russian Government was keen to engage with India and Indian businesses more aggressively.

She was of the view that Indian companies should focus on specific business issues and share it with the government and embassy, so that an appropriate platform can be created to address and resolve these issues. She reiterated the commitment of the government to help wherever possible.

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