India-Russia Trade to Rise: Sonowal on Eastern Maritime Corridor

Chennai, Jan 24 (PTI) Bilateral trade between India and Russia was at USD 50 billion in the last financial year and is expected to increase this year, said Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, here on Wednesday.

The Eastern Maritime Corridor between the ports on the east coast of India and the Far East region of Russia promises "immense potential" to unlock new trade opportunities, he said.

The minister was speaking at a conference on 'Operationalising Eastern Maritime Corridor' which was attended by a delegation from Moscow led by A Yu Bobrakov, Deputy Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic of the Russian Federation, among others.

While welcoming the visiting delegates, Sonowal said the India-Russia partnership is "strong and steady" building upon strategic convergence, geo-political interests and mutually beneficial cooperation.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains engaged with President Putin through telephonic conversation. The latest discussion took place on January 15," he said.

India and Russia continue to interact at the Ministerial and official levels; most recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a very successful visit to Russia in December 2023, he said.

"Our bilateral partnership has expanded to become truly multi-faceted and encompasses cooperation in military, security, science and technology. Our bilateral trade has registered rapid growth in the last financial year, where it amounted to USD 50 billion, and it is likely to be even more this year," he said.

However, the minister did not reveal any figures on how much trade is expected to grow between the two countries.

Observing that the 'Eastern Maritime Corridor' is an example of the 'special' and 'privileged' nature of the ties between the two countries, Sonowal recalled his visit to Vladivostok in 2023 to take part in the 8th Eastern Economic Forum.

A big advantage of the Eastern Maritime Corridor is the significant reduction in the time to transport cargo between India and Far East Russia by up to 16 days and a significant reduction of the distance by up to 40 per cent, he said.

Elaborating, he said, "Presently, the distance between Mumbai Port and the Port of St Petersburg, Russia by the Western Sea Route via the Suez Canal is 8,675 nautical miles or 16,066 km whereas the distance from Chennai Port to Vladivostok Port via the Eastern Maritime Corridor is only 5,647 Nautical Miles or 10,458 km. There is a clear-cut savings of 5,608 km in distance that would help immensely reduce in logistics cost, apart from boosting efficiency in transportation of cargo between the two nations.

"The corridor already holds a great potential for trade in commodities such as coking coal, oil, fertilizers, containers and liquified-natural gas", he said and expressed optimism on deepening bilateral maritime cooperation between India and Russia.

"I am confident that Indian seafarers will be equipped in Russia with the necessary trainings to undertake polar voyages for Arctic shipping and we may also see Russian ice-breakers being built at Indian shipyards. These are encouraging possibilities of the India-Russia Maritime Partnership," he remarked.

Deputy Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Yuryevich Bobrakov said there has been over USD 130 billion investments already in Russia in oil and gas sectors. "Russia sees India as its strategic partner and is working closely to further deepen bilateral ties through enhanced trade relations," he said.

Chennai Port Authority, Chairperson Sunil Paliwal said the Eastern Maritime Corridor would not only reduce shipping cost and time but also provide new avenues for business growth.