From Left: 1. H.E. Mr. Alexander D. Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, 2. Classical dance performers, 3. Hon'ble Dr. Karan Singh, President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

The highlight of the month of March 2009 was the launching of the 'Year of India in Russia - 2009', which was jointly inaugurated by Hon'ble Dr. Karan Singh, President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and H.E. Mr. Alexander D. Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, at a gala ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 31 March 2009.

The inaugural event titled 'Aadita', the Beginning, encapsulated six major classical dance forms of India, one of which was presented by a Russian dance group. It set the tone for the nine-month long extravaganza of a series of dance recitals, musical concerts, exhibitions, seminars and conferences, trade fairs, scientific workshops, economic and commercial exchanges, food festivals, film weeks, fashion shows and a variety of other activities that will take place in Moscow and other cities and regions of Russia. A second inaugural performance was also held in the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 2 April. Click here to view the Gallery

Bilateral Update: March 2009

Indian envoy attends Special Conference on Afghanistan: March 2009 also witnessed the important visit of H.E. Ambassador S.K. Lambah, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India on Afghanistan, to Moscow to participate in the Special Conference on Afghanistan held on 27 March under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Click here to view thefull text of the statement delivered at the Conference by Ambassador Lambah.

Indian Delegation present at Meeting on Audit of Privatisation, Economic Regulation: A two-member delegation led by Mr. Arvind Kumar Awasthi, Additional Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General, visited Moscow on 16-20 March to attend the 15th INTOSAI Working Group meeting on Audit of Privatization, Economic Regulation.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency delegation visits: A two-member delegation comprising Mr. Yogendra Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi and Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, visited Moscow on 08-10 March to attend the 3rd Meeting of HDP Working Group on Energy Efficiency.

Talks on cooperation in Pharma sector held: Mr. Devendra Chaudhry, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, visited Moscow on 04-06 March for discussions with Russian authorities on cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector. He had meetings with Director, Department of State Control on Medicinal and Disability Rehabilitation Products, Federal Service on Surveillance in Healthcare and Social Development of the Russian Federation, and Executive Director, Association of Professional Pharmaceutical Organizations, Moscow.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman Awarded: In the military-technical field, the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, in a ceremony in Moscow on 02 March awarded the 'Medalio Za Ukreplaynia Baevogo Sadrooshestva' (Medal for Strengthening of Companionship in Arms) to Mr. Ashok K. Baweja, Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in recognition of his contribution towards strengthening bilateral cooperation in the military aviation sphere.

India-Russia Joint Task Force (JTF) Meeting held

In the sphere of bilateral economic cooperation, the second meeting of the India-Russia Joint Task Force (JTF) for Economic Cooperation was held in Moscow on 26-27 March. The meeting was co-Chaired by Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, from the Indian side and Ms. E. V. Danilova, Director of the Department of External Economic Relations, Ministry of Economic Development, from the Russian side. The JTF reviewed the status of bilateral trade and noted with optimism the significant increase witnessed during the current financial year.

Under sectoral discussions, the JTF addressed the areas of agriculture & food production; chemicals, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals; fertilizers; construction and engineering services; transportation; and tourism. The JTF called for expeditious removal of restrictions on import of Indian plant products to Russia. Several Russian companies displayed interest in establishing joint ventures in India and Russia in the spheres of pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, agro-processing and construction & engineering services. In the pharmaceuticals sector, where India has emerged as the most reliable supplier of quality generic drugs to Russia, the JTF recommended exploring the possibility of setting up of joint ventures in both countries. In the fertilizer sector, the JTF underlined the need for identifying partners for setting up joint ventures in Russia for long-term supply of fertilizers to India.

Interview of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh with Financial Times
Source: Financial Time

James Lamont, south Asia bureau chief, Alec Russell, world news editor, and Amy Kazmin, the south Asia correspondent, interviewed Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, in New Delhi on March 29 2009. FT: Do you agree with China on the failures of the global monetary regime and the case for a new reserve asset in place of the dollar? Manmohan Singh: Well these are not new issues. I was associated with the first committee of 20 with Paul Volcker in the 1970s. These issues have been discussed many times – moving to a neutral reserve asset. But there are complicated issues. The power to issue money is an indication of the power of a country and no-one gives up power voluntarily. So these are complicated issues, depending on the power balance. There are virtuous technical solutions but I don’t see these are the issues that can be resolved through technical analysis. Fulltext