India Seeks Stronger Economic Ties with Ukraine

India has announced it will strengthen economic ties with Ukraine at a recent press conference in Kyiv.   The First Secretary of the Indian Embassy spoke of the plans.

 

[K.P.M. Raman, 1st Secretary of Indian Embassy in Ukraine]: 

“The India-Ukraine bilateral economic cooperation is trade-oriented. The annual volume of two-way trade has increased over a period of time to about $2 billion. Both sides have realized that there is tremendous potential for further growth.”

 

India says it needs developers to build metro, ports, airports and railways. The first Ukrainian company to work in these industries in India, Kyiv Metrostroy, has already built three international airports and one metro station in New-Delhi.

 

Businessman Drhuba Panda has operated a  tropical oil production plant for more than 20 years in a small city near the Black Sea. He says the Indian economy has grown so rapidly because the government and businesses have cooperated. 

 

But such cooperation seems to be missing in Ukraine.

 

 [Drhuba Panda, Factory Owner in Ukraine]: 

“I have lived here for 26 years and I can say that this is my second home. So I am justified to say that the laws which are adopted here are not implemented. Those people who create laws break them right from the start.”

 

The representative of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine thinks that in the next few decades the cooperation between Ukraine and India will move away from heavy industry and toward information technologies and knowledge exchange.  He explains the areas where India can assist Ukraine in its development.

 

[Dmitry Vydrin, Deputy Secretary of NSDC]: 

“The areas are computer programming, Internet programs, computer communication, satellite communication and so on.”

 

The head of the Ukrainian Institute of Political and International Analysis thinks that Ukraine has the most interest in light industry equipment which is produced in India under license.  The cost is much lower than those from European or U.S. companies.

 

The Deputy Secretary says that economic cooperation between the two countries remains unstable, with the exception of armaments.

 

[Sergey Tolstov, Head, Institute of Political and International Analysis]: 

“Today the main interests from the Indian side are the projects connected to the defense industry. In the first place there is modernization of the current weapons, services and repair operations and also supplying equipment for the army.”

 

He also says that Ukraine can learn from India, especially on the cooperation between the government and private industry that has helped Indian development.

 

NTD, Kyiv, Ukraine