India and Russia ink 9 agreements on trade, climate, research during PM Modi's Moscow visit

Moscow: India and Russia inked nine MoUs and agreements on several areas, including trade, climate and research, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day high-profile visit to Moscow which concluded on Tuesday.

To facilitate a further increase in trade and joint investment projects between the Far East Region of Russia and India, the two countries inked a program of bilateral cooperation in trade, economic and investment spheres in the Russian Far East for the period from 2024 to 2029 as well as of cooperation principles in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, according to the list of agreements and MoUs released by the Ministry of External Affairs.

To facilitate investment by Russian companies in the Indian market by promoting and fostering investment cooperation, a Joint Investment Promotion Framework Agreement was inked between Invest India and JSC "Management Company of Russian Direct Investment Fund”.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Trade Promotion Council of India and All Russia Public Organisation "Business Russia” was signed to promote bilateral trade and investment, organise B2B meetings, and business promotion events; and exchange of business delegations.

An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation on the issues of climate change and low-carbon development.

Under the deal, a Joint Working Group on the issues of climate change and low-carbon development will be set up. There will also be an exchange of information, best practices and co-hosting research to develop low-cost technologies.

A MoU was also signed between India's National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research and Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute on cooperation in research and logistics in polar regions.

A Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Indian International Arbitration Centre and the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. The agreement aims at the facilitation of settlement of civil law disputes of a commercial nature.

Among other MoUs signed were between Survey of India and the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, Russian Federation; Prasar Bharati and ANO "TV-Novosti” (Russia Today TV Channel) on cooperation and collaboration on broadcasting; and Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission and Russia's Federal State Budgetary Institution "Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products”.