India will soon launch trade in rupees with Russia, the head of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) said this week. This comes after the State Bank of India agreed to simplify a new payment mechanism.
“The State Bank of India has come forward for facilitating trade in rupees with Russia and some other banks have also shown interest,” A. Shaktivel told reporters, adding that India already has “a good rupee payment mechanism in Iran, so the same thing will happen [with Russia].”
In July, the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, issued a circular urging national lenders to introduce additional arrangements for import and export transactions in rupees. The move designed to reduce the rupees’ dependence on the dollar, is also seen as an incentive to boost trade with Moscow.
India’s exports to Russia slumped by about a third in April-July due to sweeping Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.
But according to A. Shaktivel, “The trade in rupees could boost Indian exports to Russia to about $5 billion in the current financial year,” he said.
To avoid Western sanctions Indian companies are already switching to Asian currencies in transactions with Russia.
Moscow is expected to name the bank for mutual settlements in rupees within two weeks. Meanwhile, the Moscow stock exchange is working on a plan to launch trade in the Indian currency in an effort to move away from the US dollar and euro.
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Putin: Russia Doing Everything to End Ukraine Crisis, But Kiev Seeks to Reach Goals by Means of War
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan’s city of Samarkand.
President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia is doing everything to end the
Ukraine crisis as soon as possible, as the Russian and Indian leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
summit in Uzbekistan’s city of Samarkand.
“I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine…the concerns that you have repeatedly expressed… We will do everything to ensure that this all stops as quickly as possible… However, Kiev refuses negotiations,” Putin told Modi, adding that the Ukrainian government is intent on reaching its goals by means of war.
“Nevertheless, we will always keep you informed of what is happening there,” Vladimir Putin added.
The Russian and Indian leaders held bilateral talks on the sidelines of this year’s SCO summit, which marks their first in-person meeting since February.
The Russian president on Friday invited India’s prime minister to visit Russia, adding that the countries should intensify the process of visa-free travel. In turn, Modi called for finding solutions to issues pertaining to
global food and fuel security.
Ahead of the meeting with Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi described Russia as a critical energy partner and vowed to explore the “huge potential in this area that remains untapped.”
Earlier this week, Russia’s ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, said the two countries were “very motivated” to ensure that the defense cooperation between the two strategic partners is “uninterrupted” by the Ukraine crisis. He pointed to the fact that India has maintained its stance of neutrality on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and has continued active trade and military cooperation with Russia, despite Western criticism.
