India & Russia aim to reach $50 Bn in bilateral trade in 2023

MOSCOW: The India-Russia Business Forum was held recently, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The participants discussed the efforts the governments of India and Russia are taking to overcome transport and logistics problems, prospectsofsettingupajointbanking and financial structure to support the bilateral trade potential, and highpriority areas of cooperation between IndiaandRussia.

“I can say that we always get very good and interesting content from them which we adapt to Russian viewers. We also make our own contribution to the development of bilateral relations,” Ksenia Komissarova said, who moderated thetalkamongparticipants.

The first speaker was Ved PrakashSingh, FirstSecretary and Head of Economic and Commercial Department of the Embassy of India in Moscow. He said that the Russian and Indian leadersin2021haddecidedtoreacha bilateraltradevolumeof$30billionby 2025, but that there was potential to increasethisfigure.

“Thisyear,wehaveanopportunity to surpass that figure. In 2023, our goal is to reach a bilateral trade volume of $50 billion. This is historically high and a huge achievement,”hesaid.

Ved Prakash Singh also pointed out that the two countries have the potential to develop in sectors like pharmaceuticals, chemicals and agriculture. Thus, it is possible to increaseexportsfromIndiatoRussia.

“Trade and economic cooperation between India and Russia has been growing at a rapid pace in recent years. The two countries are striving to strengthen partnerships in the energy sector, trade.Alargenumberofagreements and contracts between the parties have been signed in recent years, laying the foundation for further deepening of our relations,” said Sammy Kotwani, President of the IndianBusinessAlliance(IBA).

HenotedthatIndiahasafavorable business environment, “As an association (IBA), we provide a certain set of measures to support entrepreneurs. We provide assistance in company registration, allow entrepreneurs to get various permitsandlicensestodobusinessin theCountry.”

Drewry survey: Buyers of spot rates expect increases in July

LONDON: The container shipping market is in a state of flux and is harder to forecast than previously. ButaDrewrysurveyofbuyersofspot rates supports the view that spot rateswillriseinJuly.

Overthepastyear,spotcontainer freight rates have continuously dropped from the previous Covid- related crazy levels of 2021-mid 22 andappearedtohavefoundafloor.

At the end of May, Drewry conducted a short survey, asking buyers of spot rates in the container shipping market what level of spot rates they are expecting in June (average for the month) and in July (averageforthemonth).

We would like to thank the participants in this survey. The results of the survey were shared on

LinkedIn via the new Drewry Freight Loop, our new, digital update for shippers, forwarders, carriers and other stakeholders in the global container shipping sector. You can watchtheDrewryFreightLoophere.

The message from this survey is that buyers expect further reductions in spot rates in June, particularly on the transatlantic route, and either stability or moderate rate increases inJuly.

VPA creates highest ever single-day throughput of 4,01,875 MT

VISAKHAPATNAM: Visakhapatnam Port Authority createdanewrecordon17-06-2023withhighesteversingle day throughput by the port of 4,01,875 MT, by surpassing the previous record of 3,78,760 MT achieved on 07-05-2023. This is the highest ever single-day throughput since the inception of the port. This record was made possible with thehelpof23workingvesselsatvariousberths.

Chairperson Dr. M. Angamuthu, IAS, appreciated the Traffic Manager Ratna Shekar and his team in achieving the new record. He also advised the port employees to do team work to scale new records, informed a recent communique.