The Trade festival «In memory of Afanasy Nikitin» will be held in Russia with assistance from the Russian Trade Representation in India and Indian Embassy in Russia

On the Day of Peace and Labour, May 1, 2024, the Economic and Commercial Wing of the Embassy of the Republic of India in the Russian Federation held a meeting on the topic of holding the Russian-Indian Trade Festival “In Memory of Afanasy Nikitin” in the Russian regions in 2024 within the framework of the second Russian stage of the international and interregional socio-cultural programme “BRICS People Choosing Life” under the motto “From the ecology of soul and body to the ecology the world” (hereinafter referred to as the Programme).

The Russian programme received good wishes from Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Russia's Sherpa in BRICS, who stated that “programmes such as “BRICS People Choosing Life” are now in demand more than ever... This is a living creativity covering all areas of cooperation from trade and economy to science, education, and values”.

The business events are organised by the Regional Public Organisation “BRICS. World of Traditions” and OOO “Smart World Services” with the support of the authorities of the relevant ministries of the participating regions: Tver, Moscow and Samara regions and Altai Krai. Mr. Dattan Nair, representative of the “Times of India”, became a member of the organising group for the business stage of the Russian programme.

The programmewas successfully launched in India in December 2022 with the participation of more than 2,000 Indian students and business representatives. 

According to Oleg Gorlov, Deputy Director of the Department of Asia, Africa and Latin America of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, who spoke at the summing up of the Indian stage at MGIMO University under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, “The synergy of political, socio-cultural and business aspects of cooperation makes our relations with foreign partners more robust and multifaceted”.

Assessing the role of the business track of the Programme, Russian Trade Commissioner to India Alexander Rybas also emphasized that “numerous events of the Indian phase have evoked a wide response among Indian public, educational and business communities. The resulting synergy between the humanitarian and business tracks has yielded positive results”.

The Russian programme, implemented as an interregional relay of cultural, educational and business projects, was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Embassy of Russia in India, the Embassy of India in Russia, the Trade Mission of Russia in India and the governments of the participating regions.

At the meeting, the Embassy of India in Russia was represented by Mr. Rajneesh Patidar, Deputy Head of the Economy and Commerce Wing. The President of the Regional Public Organisation “BRICS. World of Traditions”, Head of the Programme “BRICS People Choosing Life” Lyudmila Sekacheva, “BRICS. World of Traditions” Coordinator for International Projects Dmitry Kurbatov and General Partner of the business track of the Russian stage of the Programme, founder of OOO “Smart World Services”, Chairman of the IYES Foundation Akil Mohammad participated in the talks.

The meeting centered around the Embassy's assistance to the extensive Trade Festival programme, which will feature business missions and B2B negotiations in hybrid format with the participation of Russian and Indian large and medium-sized enterprises interested in developing mutually beneficial trade cooperation with Russia, as well as Trade Fairs with the participation of Indian sellers of tea, cosmetics, clothing, jewellery and other traditional Indian goods.

In the course of the talks, Mr. Rajneesh Patidar punctuated India's interest in increasing trade turnover with Russia, which “will undoubtedly be facilitated by the business events of the Russian phase of the programme “BRICS People Choosing Life”, which particularly relevant in the year of the Russian Federation's Chairmanship in BRICS”.

The Embassy’s representative also assured of the determination to provide assistance in selecting Indian businesses (for business missions and trade fairs) on the basis of the list of sectors and categories of goods that participating regions show interest in commerce with India.

Mr. Rajneesh highly appreciated the detailed elaboration of the Programme, its timeliness, social and practical relevance, as well as expressed his satisfaction with the substantial role of the youth in implementing the Porgramme’s projects.

Currently the Russian Trade Representation in India is actively inviting  Indian medium and large businesses to participate in the business track of the 2024 Russian Programme.

This complicated and long-lasting work is implemented under the supervision and with personal participation of Evgeniy Griva, Russian Deputy  Trade Commissioner to India, who commands vast knowledge in international trade and huge experience of cooperation with Indian business.

Top-ranking officials from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Russian Trade Representation in India, the Embassy of India in Russia, relevant ministries of the regions participating in the programme “BRICS Peoples Choose Life” have been invited as Guests of Honour to take part in the regional business events of the Trade Festival “In Memory of AfanasyNikitin” (both in offline and online format).

The plan of holding the Trade festival is as follows:Tver – June 28-30 (business mission on June 28), Krasnogorsk – July 01-07 (business mission on July 1), Barnaul – August 22-25 (business mission on August 22), Samara – October 16-20 (business mission on October 17).

The Trade festival’s organizing team includes successful young Indian businessmen interested in developing their production in Russia, which gives confidence in the positive result of the business track of the Russian phase of the Programme.