TPCI Chairman participates in SPIEF 2023

Mohit Singla, Chairman, Trade Promotion Council of India was a special invitee to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2023) that was held during June 14-17, 2023. During his visit, Mr Singla was a speaker for multiple panel discussions at the prestigious Forum.

Mohit Singla, Chairman, Trade Promotion Council of India was a special invitee to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2023) that was held during June 14-17, 2023. During his visit, Mr Singla was a speaker for multiple panel discussions at the prestigious Forum.

On June 14, Mr Singla was a speaker at the discussion titled SPIEF ’23: The Potential of Trade, Economic and Investment Cooperation between Russia and India: A Development Scenario. He also participated in the Russia-India Business Dialogue on June 16, wherein he shared his views on business cooperation between the two countries.

During his interaction, Mr Singla said, “The Foreign Trade Policy is a visionary step, where the government has moved from incentive to remittance. India has shown the world that we would like to be a very competitive economy and it is also engaging in FTAs with key partners.”

While speaking on the trade equation between the two countries, he said, “While India-Russia trade has surged to around US$ 50 billion in 2022-23, the trade deficit is now a genuine worry for both sides. The country has a vibrant investment climate. We are aiming to promote global linkages of raw material, availability of highly skilled manpower, competitive costs for operations. We would like to pitch India as a contract manufacturing destination. A lot of Russian companies can choose India as their contract manufacturing destination, set up new projects and develop quality products that they would like to import back to their country.”

He also proposed the setting up of a green corridor between India and Russia, since there are a lot of concerns over customs regulations, especially TBT barriers. A green corridor would help smoothen the process and help reduce the trade deficit between the two countries.

Mr Singla urged Elena Borisenko, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprom Bank to push sovereign backed investment projects in India’s manufacturing sector. Further, he discussed the possibilities of setting up a green corridor with Ruslon Davydov, Acting Head, Federal Customs Service of Russia. He also had a detailed interaction with Veronika Nikishina, General Director, Russian Export Centre  on smoothening supply chain issues and boosting bilateral trade.