The Hindu Business Line : EEPC to sign 2 pacts with Russia chambers

Kolkata, March 10 Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), in a bid to boost trade ties between India and Russia, especially during the ‘Year of Russia’ in India this year, is organising its 18th international exhibition, in a row, in St Petersburg, Russia (Indee-Petersburg 2008).

The council is expected to sign two MoUs each with St Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Leningrad Chamber of Commerce to formalise various methods of exchange of business and commercial information to benefit the engineering community in both countries.

Briefing newspersons here, Mr Rakesh Shah, National Chairman of EEPC, said the fair was being organised in association with Petersburg Technical Fair 2008 by Restec Exhibition Company of Russia. India has been declared the Partner Country in this exhibition.

According to Mr Igor Kirsanov, Director General of Restec, the first day of the fair will be devoted to Indian industry to commemorate the Year of Russia in India, already under way. The focus products in the exhibition will include items such as electric home appliances and parts, automobiles and components, primary iron and steel items, bicycles and parts, industrial machinery, electrical power components, food-processing machinery, pumps and compressors.

145 exhibitors

Mr Shah said there would be 145 exhibitors of engineering items from India participating in the fair, with bulk of them (59) from South India, known for value-added engineering products. Mr Shah felt the exhibition was being held at the most opportune moment when the ‘Year of Russia” is being celebrated in India to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations.

Pointing out that India was the largest trading partner of Russia immediately before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mr Shah said trade resurgence took place since 2003-04. Indian engineering exports to Russia amounted to $123.54 million in 2006-07, up by 48 per cent from $83.26 million in the previous fiscal.

growth areas

The EEPC Chairman informed that the potential growth areas for Indian exports to Russia were manufacture of metals, machinery and instruments, transport equipment, machine tools, items of iron and steel among others. He said Indian companies, mostly SMEs, were keen to supply auto parts for the automobile assembly plants in Russia as the automobile industry there was now booming.

He said automobile giants such as Toyota (in 2007) and General Motors in February this year, have launched their assembly plants in Russia, besides Nissan, Suzuki and Hyundai, who are planning to set up facilities soon.

Mr Shah said that India’s Sharp Tools and Russia’s Elastar were likely to sign an agreement for a joint venture company titled ‘Esweld’ to manufacture components for welding operations in the Elektrostal region near Moscow.

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