India and Russia may formalise plans to set up a joint study group (JSG) on the proposed bilateral free trade agreement during Commerce Minister Anand Sharma’s visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The pact, called a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), could give a big push to trade in goods and services between the two regions and reduce India’s economic dependence on the US and the EU.

With Russia withdrawing its pre-condition that a free trade agreement (FTA) should be linked to investment commitments, India is now ready to go ahead with talks on the JSG on the proposed trade pact with the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

India was not ready for any pre-condition of drawing up a roadmap of investment projects as these are business decisions and not Government-controlled, a Commerce Department official told Business Line .

“Now, that the Russian Deputy Prime Minister’s office has indicated that the work on the JSG could be carried out simultaneously with the list of priority investment projects and is not a pre-condition, we can go forward with the discussions,” the official said.

India’s trade with Russia in 2012 was at $6.9 billion, which was 14 per cent higher than $6 billion in 2011.

The Commerce Department has begun talks with Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) for moving forward the CECA proposal with the Customs Union.

Sharma has already met the Chairman, EEC Board, Viktor Khristenko.

India has also submitted an informal paper on the CECA with the Customs Union with the EEC.

Earlier this year, Sharma wrote to the trade ministers of the three Custom Union member countries to convey their willingness to EEC on entering into CECA with India.

Russia recently stated that it had conveyed its willingness to the EEC for entering into the CECA with India, while the Prime Minister of Belarus expressed his support for the JSG in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July.

amiti.sen@thehindu.co.in

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