India PM Manmohan Singh's Russia trip to boost ties

India PM Manmohan Singh's Russia trip to boost ties

The two sides are expected to sign a number of defence, energy, health and science agreements.

Russia is building two nuclear reactors in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu amid concerns over safety.

Mr Singh has said India will fulfil its commitments on increased nuclear cooperation with Russia.

The commissioning of a nearly $3bn controversial nuclear plant - equipped with two reactors built with Russian assistance - in Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu has been delayed after public protests over fears about the safety of the plant

"The protests at Koodankulam reflect the concerns of people about the safety of nuclear energy," Mr Singh told the Russian media ahead of the visit.

He said the government took people's concerns "seriously", but nuclear cooperation between India and Russia "will continue".

Mr Singh is expected to have meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during the visit.

Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said India had elevated its strategic partnership with Russia to a "special and privileged status" last year because the two countries "enjoy a diversified partnership spanning the fields of defence, nuclear energy, hydrocarbons, space, science and technology, education, trade and culture".

India is expected to sign an agreement confirming the purchase of 42 upgraded Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft to beef up its ageing fleet during Mr Singh's visit, media reports say.

The two countries have had close links since Soviet times.

A Cold War ally and for many years the default weapons supplier to India, Russia has faced tough competition in recent years from Europe and the US for a slice of Delhi's booming defence market.

Wary of its rising regional rival, China, India is now one of the world's largest buyers of fighter jets, tanks, submarines and other defence equipment.

Russia also has other contracts with India, in particular the modernisation of weapons already delivered. By one estimate, 80% of India's army is equipped with Russian hardware.

Delhi and Moscow have also agreed to double bilateral trade from the current $9bn over the next four years.
11:28 16/12/2011ALL NEWS

Shuvalov to attend ceremony of Russia’s accession in WTO

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/299082.html

MOSCOW, December 16 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will attend a ceremony of Russia’s accession in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will be held in Geneva on Friday, a source in the Russian Ministry of Economic Development said.

On the instructions from the Russian leadership Shuvalov has coordinated the interdepartmental process of Russia’s accession in the WTO for several years in the commission for economic integration, the source said.
12:26 16/12/2011ALL NEWS

RF’s joining WTO opens new stage of international integration

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/299166.html

MOSCOW, December 16 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s joining the World Trade Organisation /WTO/ opens a qualitatively new stage of the country’s integration in the international economic system, spokesman of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday.

“Russia has overcome mighty obstacles, and the negotiations have lasted for 18 years,” he said. “We ahve approached the desired result.” After intergovernmental procedures, including ratification, Russia will become the WTO’s full-fledged member. “Finalising of this many-years and complicated negotiation process is an event of political importance, which is beneficial both for Russia and for our future counterparts,” Lukashevich said.

“Russia is joining the WTO on conditions answering its national interests,” he said.

“There are preconditions for further improvement of our business climate, for attraction of foreign investmens, for expanding of Russia’s export with simultaneous keeping of key industries of the national economy,” he said. “We are opening a qualitatively new stage of the country’s integration in the international economic system.”

Russia is sure that its admission in the WTO “will favour the integration processes in the framework of the Customs Union and the formation of the Eurasian economic union.”

At the same time, the diplomat said that Russia’s joining the WTO “will be beneficial for the organisation itself.”

“By admitting the only major state, which has been outside the multilateral trade system for a long time, the organisation will improve its status of a truly overwhelming cooperation platform,” Lukashevich said.

All binding documents are expected to be signed on December 16 in the presence of Russian Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina.

The talks on Russia’s accession to the WTO ended in Geneva on November 10, 2011. The working group of 62 WTO members (with the EU as one member) gave a preliminary approval to a set of documents on Russia’s admission. The documents reflect the results of the talks conducted by Russia with 57 WTO member states on goods and with 30 WTO members on services, as well as the results of multilateral talks on systemic obligations. After approval, Russia will have 220 days to ratify the documents.

Russia will become a full member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the summer of next year at the earliest, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said.

“The agreement on Russia’s accession to the WTO will be signed at a WTO ministerial conference in Geneva on December 16. Ratification of this document will begin after that. At best, Russia will become a full member of the WTO by the summer of next year,” Chizhov said ahead of the Russia-EU summit in Brussels on December 14-15.

A transitional period will begin after that and it may last for 5-7 years in some sectors.

“Accession to the WTO will lead to a decrease in trade tariffs and to expansion of Russia’s foreign trade,” the diplomat said.

He believes that “on the whole, accession to the World Trade Organisation will benefit Russia”.

Russia is the world’s biggest economy that is not a WTO member. Negotiations on Russia’s admission to the WTO have been going on for 18 years.

Russia’s accession to the WTO will also expand trade and economic partnership with the European Union and will accelerate negotiations on a new agreement on strategic partnership, Chizhov said earlier.

“Russia’s accession to the WTO in December of this year will lead to considerable expansion of trade and economic partnership with the EU,” he said.

The EU is the number one trade partner of Russia while Russia ranks third among the EU’s trade partners, Chizhov said.

“This /Russia’s accession to the WTO/ will also step up work on the agreement on strategic partnership between Russia and the EU, the talks on which have been going on for the fourth consecutive year,” the diplomat said.

Russia may become a member of the World Trade Organisation before the end of the year, its Director-General Pascal Lamy said earlier.

For the first time in about ten years that he has been dealing with Russia's admission to the WTO, Lamy seems to be truly hopeful that the country's admission to the organisation is real as never before, he said.

“We should cover the remaining distance quickly, without creating big problems for communication with our leading partners in the EU. I hope that the government will find such compromise,” Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier.

“We believe it necessary to intensify our efforts to join the WTO,” he said.

Medvedev said Russia would use the shortest way possible to join the WTO. He said the form of accession was less important.

Usually, admission to the WTO takes about 10 years. The WTO has 153 member states, which account for 95 percent of the world's trade turnover. Russia filed an application for admission back in 1994.

06:00 16/12/2011ALL NEWS

Chubais sees OECD accession after WTO joining

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/298907.html

BRUSSELS, December 16 (Itar-Tass) —— RUSNANO CEO Anatoly Chubais, an ardent supporter of the Russian admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), hopes the joining of the organization would be followed by accession to the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) which he described as “Russian return to the civilized world.”

On Friday WTO General Secretary Pascal Lamy and Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina will end 18 years of talks and sign a protocol on the Russian accession at the WTO ministerial meeting.

Chubais, who co-chaired a meeting of Russian and EU industrialists, said Russia will sign new partnership and cooperation agreements with Europe next year followed by a WTO+ free trade zone agreement with the EU, and eventual admission to the OECD.

“The talk is about the Russian return to the civilized world, a legally fixed return. The developments are beginning today and will take place in two-three years,” he said.

“The Russian admission to the WTO is definitely an historical event. We clearly realize it will be followed by a chain of developments that are more important than the joining of the WTO,” he added.

Chubais admitted WTO membership will pose problems for some Russian industries, however consumers will definitely profit from it.

He said the admission will provide an estimated growth of 7.5 percentage points for the innovative industries of Russia however the effect will be negative for others.

“There are industries that will face uneasy situation in competitive conditions,” he said but recalled the industries will have a seven-year transition period to modernize production.

Russian consumers will benefit anyway, he believes.

“No matter how hard producers demand protection and assistance and say they are not prepared for genuine competition that only means they want to live at the expense of the consumer. I am against it as I believe they had enough time (to modernize production),” he said.

“The Russian consumer has the right to have access to competitive products. It means the producers which are not ready for that will lose. They will lose because the Russian consumer cannot indefinitely tolerate inefficiency, excessive costs, and inability of managers,” Chubais said.