Russia’s Far East is emerging as a global maritime logistics hub, and businesses from India and China should not miss out on the opportunity to take part in upcoming projects there, Valery Limarenko, the head of Sakhalin Region, said on Wednesday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
Speaking at a session on global trade, Limarenko addressed the Indian ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, urging his country to “not be late with the logistics business in Sakhalin.” The governor added that he had conveyed a similar message to his Chinese counterparts.
Limarenko highlighted the project for modernizing the infrastructure of the Port of Korsakov, which lies on the southern part of Sakhalin Island on the Aniva Gulf. The port is expected to become one of the turnaround points for the Northern Sea Route – a shipping corridor that passes along Russia’s northern coastline through the Arctic Ocean – the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Limarenko, the upgraded port will change fish and seafood processing logistics, moving it from Busan, Korea to the Sakhalin coast, and create new industries in the region. The port will have a large container terminal and a separate ecosystem for refining oil products, including a refinery for aviation fuel.
Limarenko noted that Indian companies in particular have been investing in the Far East’s oil and gas industry for decades, and with the new development projects, this long-standing partnership will receive a new boost.
The Indian envoy to Russia noted that Moscow has been one of New Delhi’s biggest trade partners, with bilateral trade registering a record $65 billion last year, mainly backed by Indian imports of Russian crude, coal, and fertilizers. Kumar also noted that Russian investors are actively exploring opportunities provided under New Delhi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, which aims to boost domestic manufacturing.
He also confirmed that Russia and India are working together on developing a new framework for inter-bank communication to ease transactions between the two nations, given that Russia was cut off from the Western SWIFT network as part of US-led sanctions. Media reports earlier this week suggested that the Reserve Bank of India is considering the use of Russia’s alternative to SWIFT – the System for Transfer of Financial Messages – for rupee-ruble trade settlements.
“We have to find a framework that would allow us to conduct trade and achieve the set targets,” Kumar said. In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a new bilateral trade target of $100 billion to be achieved by 2030.