Mahajan to lead high level delegation to Russia

CII jointly with the Ministry of IT and Parliamentary Affairs is sending a high level 20-member official and business delegation to Russia from 10-15 September 2001.

Building linkages between India and Russia in the Telecom sector, between both government to government and Industry to industry is the main- objective of the mission, according to CII. A key component of industry to industry linkages would be cooperation between the private and public sectors, CII added.

The meetings with various government officials as well as industry representatives would identify opportunities for Indian service providers in Russia both in basic services and cellular services as well as value added services and pay phones. In terms of products that could be exported to Russia, CII stated that tremendous scope exists in the switching equipment, consumer end equipment and cables segments. To identify specific areas of Russian interest in the Indian Market, on the other hand, the Indian delegation will be looking at Indian participation in the satellite program for Indian IT and Telecom Industry to use Transponders, according to
CII.

This mission is a prelude to the PM's visit to Russia later this year when a final Memorandum is expected to be signed between the two governments. The delegation is being led by Pramod Mahajan, Minister for Communications, IT and Parliamentary Affairs. He will be accompanied by Shyamal Ghosh, Secretary, Department of Telecom and Chairman, Telecom 

The Business delegation accompanying the Minister are from both the public and the private sectors. A S Bansal, CMD, Telecom Consultants India Ltd. is a the co-leader from the public sector. The delegation would also have members from the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association
(TEMA).

The delegation is scheduled to have both official and business meetings with their respective Russian counterparts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Russian Government has expressed interest in the provision of telephone equipment, peoples telephone and also for setting up of Telecom and IT training.

During this visit, it is expected that the Minister would discuss and finalize a framework for cooperation in the Communication sector between the two countries.