New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be undertaking a two-day visit to Russia from September 4 during which he will take part in the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) meeting. Modi will also take part in the annual India-Russia summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Briefing the media, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that the two countries have a "special relationship" and the intent to develop greater ties in energy will be followed up by action on ground during the visit. He said the Prime Minister has emphasised on broadening relations with Russia beyond nuclear energy and defence to other areas of the economy.
The Foreign Secretary said oil and gas were among major areas of interest for India and one of the objectives was to not be dependent on any one country or region for imports. Gokhale said Modi's visit to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum meeting as one of the chief guests was a signal of the importance India attaches to the Russian Far East, an area with which India has had few links in the past. He said India was also looking at the possibility of manpower export.
"We are exploring the possibility of sending people with some skills in areas wherever there is manpower shortage. That is not limited to just Far East of Russia. This is an effort we are making in a number of countries. This is one area where we feel there is good potential," he said. Gokhale said the proposal was at an early stage and there has been an encouraging response from Russia. Noting that most of Russian Far East is either minerals or agricultural sectors, he said, "We are not yet at the stage of implementing it immediately." "We will proceed to explore it once the visit is over. It is important for us and we will give this priority," he said.
Answering a query about the proposal to build a shipping link between Chennai and Vladivostok, he said there will be no immediate announcement. "There is a recognition that alternative route to Europe through the northern route is now a possibility and we should look at in terms of economic benefits it might bring us," he said, adding that a lot of oil and gas finds were in the region. "It is the start of a process. It will take a while," he said. Gokhale said Modi will arrive at Vladivostok on September 4 morning and depart on September 5 evening.
On the first day of the visit, Modi and Putin will take part in the 20th annual summit between India and Russia and have delegation and restricted level talks. In the forenoon, Modi and Putin will make a joint visit to one of their major shipbuilding yards. It is a plant that makes vessels including ice-breakers and oil tankers. The two leaders are also likely to discuss the situation in the Gulf and Afghanistan.
He said there was a possibility of bilateral meetings on September 5 with leaders who will be there for EEF meeting. Gokhale said before the Prime Minister departs, Modi and Putin will also visit a major judo championship. He said there will also be India-Russia business dialogue during the Prime Minister's visit and a 50-member FICCI delegation will also be in Vladivostok for the same.
Gokhale said a government and business delegation had visited Vladivostok last month which included Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh besides Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal. They were accompanied by a 150-member business delegation. "This was a clear intent on part of our government to show that we attach importance to Russian Far East as an area where we can do business as well as an area of geo-political importance to us in the context of Indo-Pacific," he said.
"We demonstrated a seriousness of intent in engaging with the Russian Far East, with which we have had relatively limited economic and commercial contact because our focus has been European Russia or the area just north of the central Asian republics," he said. Gokhale said potential sectors of cooperation include coal, oil and gas, diamonds, timber and tourism, and that India is also looking at the possibility of farming and manpower exports.
"There is a serious shortage of manpower in that part of the world," he said. Noting that the region has many resources India needs in the near future, he said Arctic route to Europe can now be easily accessed due to climate change and global warming. There was also the possibility of oil and gas supplies from the Arctic. "So there are a number of reasons why we are looking at the Eastern Economic Forum," he said.
