Hours before the arrival of President Dmitry Medvedev here, India and Russia on Monday signed a protocol agreeing to increase bilateral trade over four-fold to $20 billion by 2015 for strengthening "strategic partnership". As many as eight companies from the private sector signed MoUs for setting up joint production facilities, technology transfer and sourcing of raw material in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. Size of the deals could not be obtained either from the industry chambers FICCI and CII or the Commerce Ministry. The two countries, with greater involvement of the private sector, want to step up more than four-fold the bilateral trade in the next five years to USD 20 billion from a modest USD 4.5 billion in 2009-10. "Both sides agreed that enhancement of bilateral investment and cooperation is one of the main ways to widen and further strengthen the strategic partnership between India and Russia," the protocol signed after the meeting of the India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment said. The meeting was attended by top CEOs from both the countries. Sharma said the trade target was achievable provided concerted efforts are made, according to a report of the Press Trust of India. The protocol identified opportunities for cooperation in chemical and fertilizer, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, IT and communication and trading opportunities in gems and jewellery.
