Rustam Minnikhanov: Tatarstan attaches great importance to developing cooperation with Indian partners

On November 18, in New Delhi, speaking at the Tatarstan-India Business Forum, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, who is on a working visit to India (November 18-19, 2014), said that Tatarstan attaches great importance to developing cooperation with Indian partners.

Tatarstan-India Business Forum brought together Indian businessmen, who are interested in establishing cooperation and strengthening contacts with Russian partners. The event was organized with the participation of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Opening the forum, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in India Yaroslav Tarasyuk noted that the new Government of India aims at developing the country's economy, its prosperity and growth. Russia as a long-time and reliable business partner of India is ready to support these initiatives, Yaroslav Tarasyuk said. According to him, a regular meeting of the Russia-India intergovernmental commission held in November showed the desire of partners to bring relations to a new level, he said.

As for Tatarstan as one of the Russian regions, in India this region is known for its supply of helicopters, as well as production of KAMAZ heavy-trucks, Yaroslav Tarasyuk reminded. He went on to say that until recently, the KAMAZ Automaker was the only company in India engaged in the production of Russian products and expressed his confidence that this visit will help lay the groundwork for new projects.

Welcoming participants of the forum, Minnikhanov, in his turn, said that at the end of 2013 Tatarstan-India trade turnover has more than doubled as compared to 2012 and amounted to about 900 million US dollars. “We supply helicopters, KAMAZ trucks, petrochemicals, rubber, mechanical and electrical equipment to India, while Indian goods such as tea, coffee, spices, textile, pharmaceuticals and other products are popular in our market", Tatarstan President said. "We have a lot of opportunities for cooperation, primarily in the economic sphere. Unfortunately, we do not make use of their full potential," he continued.

Among the priority areas for cooperation, he mentioned oil refining and petrochemicals, machine and machine tool building, helicopter industry, automotive industry and production of automotive components, IT and other high-tech technology, pharmaceuticals, as well as science, education, etc.

We are interested that Indian companies choose our republic as a platform to start work in Russia and enter the Russian market, Rustam Minnikhanov said.

At the end of the forum, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Confederation of Indian Industry signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Minnikhanov invited representatives of the Indian business community to visit Tatarstan to see into potential areas for fruitful cooperation.