Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal Meets Russian, UAE Ministers on Trade Issues

According to the Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade issues were briefly discussed at these meetings with a view to resolving them quickly.

4 minutes of reading Last updated: July 28, 2024 | 15:30 IST

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal held bilateral meetings with ministers of Russia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss issues in bilateral trade and resolve them at the earliest, an official said on Sunday.

Barthwal organised the meetings on the sidelines of the 14th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) trade ministers meeting, which took place on July 26 in Moscow.

The Secretary held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maksim Reshetnikov; the member of the board (minister) of trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrei Slepnev; the deputy minister of industry and trade of Russia Alexey Gruzdev; the head of the FSVPS (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision) of the Russian Federation Sergei Dankverts.

He also met with South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Zuko Godlimpi, and the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade issues were briefly discussed at these meetings with a view to resolving them quickly.

The meetings with Russia are important as both countries aim to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.

India is focusing on various sectors, such as electronics, and is also addressing non-trade barriers in areas such as shrimp and pharmaceuticals. It aims to increase exports to sanctioned Russia and is working towards achieving this goal.

Currently, bilateral trade is worth about $67 billion.

India and member states of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are also considering the possibility of starting talks on a free trade agreement.

The Eurasian Economic Union consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 and the imposition of US sanctions on Russia, trade relations between India and Russia have changed significantly.

There was a sharp increase in imports from Russia, resulting in a significant trade imbalance.

Exports between fiscal years 2020-21 and 2023-24 grew by 59 per cent, while imports jumped by about 8,300 per cent, the report said. Additionally, the trade deficit has widened from $2.8 billion before the war in 2020-21 to $57.2 billion now, think tank GTRI said in its report.

The sharp increase in imports is due solely to India’s strategic purchase of crude oil from Russia, which is driven by favourable trade terms, and Russia’s need to find new markets in the face of Western sanctions.

In 2023-24, India’s exports to Russia stood at $4.3 billion, while oil-fueled imports stood at $61.4 billion. The share of crude oil and petroleum products in imports was 88 percent.

India exports a wide range of products to Russia, including smartphones, shrimp, medicines, meat, tiles, coffee, aircraft and helicopter parts, chemicals, computers and fruits.

During the BRICS mini-series of trade meetings, Barthwal called for a strengthening of the multilateral trading system with the WTO (World Trade Organization) at its core, effective functioning of shared value chains and expanded interactions among SMEs.

BRICS is a group of the world’s largest emerging economies, accounting for over 40 percent of the world’s population and over 16 percent of global trade.

In the context of strengthening multilateralism, the Secretary stressed the need for concerted efforts to find solutions to long-standing WTO mandate issues, in particular development and special and differential treatment.

This treatment gives special rights to developing countries.

He stressed the urgent need to resolve the issues, including a permanent solution to the public stock holding issue and the establishment of a two-tier dispute resolution system.

He stressed that WTO reforms must be based on WTO principles and objectives, which will lead to a better response to the development needs of emerging economies and the revitalization of the WTO through the “30 for 30” initiative, which will introduce at least 30 operational improvements to the WTO before the organization turns 30 in 2025.

He also said collaboration will be key to ensuring access to affordable, emerging technologies that are critical for green transition and climate resilience.

With respect to unilateral climate-related measures affecting trade, the Secretary of Commerce expressed concern because such measures nullify rights and obligations under specialized multilateral environmental agreements and violate the principles of NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) as well as ignore the principles of CBDRs (Common but Differentiated Responsibilities).

Barthwal said that for SMEs, it is necessary to focus on key areas such as exploring opportunities for collaboration in the form of research and development, technology transfers and joint ventures, as well as business development opportunities.

He added that India is ready to share its experience with BRICS countries in e-revolution in the areas of payments, e-commerce, national identity, banking and education.

(Only the headline and image of the report may have been edited by the Business Standard team; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)

First published: July 28, 2024 | 15:30 IST