Russia ready to create conditions for Indian business to implement investment projects in Far East, Arctic - ministry

VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Russia sees potential to develop relations with Indian business and is ready to create conditions for it to implement investment projects in the Far East and the Arctic, Russian Deputy Far East and Arctic Development Minister Anatoly Bobrakov said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"We're prepared to support investors from India at any moment and help them implement projects in the Far East or the Russian Arctic zone. We're actively working on both the differential regimes in effect and on adapting them to the new conditions. We've already discussed within the framework of the EEF that territories of priority development will be built to a greater extent so that investors from friendly countries can implement their investment projects here in an increased differential regime in order to ensure the ability to create production facilities within the framework of those standards that we have adopted so that there are conditions to make cross-border and local payments in the currency they're used to," Bobrakov said.

Around 2,700 investment projects for a total of more than 6.5 trillion rubles are currently being implemented in the Far East, Bobrakov said. Indian investors represent only three projects for a total of 1.2 billion rubles.

"We're ready to jointly further develop those mechanisms and conditions together with Indian companies that would allow them to make investment decisions on cooperation and the implementation of projects in the territory of the Far East as quickly as possible," he said.

Cooperation within the framework of developing the Northern Sea Route will be a particularly promising area of interaction between companies of the two countries in Bobrakov's opinion.