Captains of Indian industry to attend SPIEF

Anand Sharma, Indian minister of commerce, industry and textiles will be accompanied by a high-profile CEOs’ delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The 25-member CEOs’ delegation is led by Kris Gopalakrishnan, President CII and Vice Executive Chairman of Infosys Ltd, the confederation said in a press note. This is the 4th year, CII has been participating at the India Russia Business Dialogue - a country specific discussion round table - at SPIEF, which has provided a credible platform to engage and address business collaborations between the two countries. The Indo-Russian Round Table has been scheduled for the afternoon of June 21.

The Indian government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the CII are jointly organising an “India Reception” in St. Petersburg to create awareness of India and Brand India in Russia and engage with businesses and other stakeholders from across the globe.

SPIEF will provide a platform for Indian and Russian businesses to engage with each other and enhance the business cooperation.  Gopalakrishnan has expectations that the long standing relationship between India and Russia will lead to stronger economic opportunities and cooperation, according to the CII press note.

The CII delegation, represented by companies such as Infosys, Welspun, Dr Reddys, Ranbaxy, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors, provides ample opportunities for businesses from both countries to engage in productive discussions.

On the sidelines of SPIEF 2013, the India Russia CEOs Council, set up by both governments, will also meet to discuss ways to enhance private sector engagement, seek and address policy and business issues between the two countries and also to identify specific projects for collaboration. The India Russia CEOs’ Council is led by A M Naik, Chairman, L&T Group on the Indian side and Vladimir Evtushenko, Chairman, Sistema Group, on the Russian side.

Many bilateral platforms have been created - Inter-Governmental Commission with sectoral Working Groups by both governments, the annual India Russia Trade and Investment Forum led by the private sectors and the annual India Russia Business Dialogue at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum - to engage in dialogues, offering consistency in the efforts to strengthen business cooperation.

The two governments are aware that the Indo-Russian bilateral trade is well below its true potential (around $11 billion in 2012) largely because their private business houses and industries have thus far kept away from it. But this is set to change dramatically and some concrete deliverables are expected during SPIEF 2013.

The CII has indicated a positive change in the Indian industry’s mindset towards Russia and says that Russia has a dynamic and optimistic attitude towards private investment and is a very good destination for high end software development and energy investment. “Russia offers the benefits of low cost structure and high literacy rates. India on the other hand offers huge opportunities in infrastructure, metallurgy, real estate, pharmaceuticals and other sectors,” the CII press note said. It also said the CII will host a reception in St Petersburg to draw policy makers, businessmen, speakers from the SPIEF and expatriates for networking opportunity.

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