India-Russia Intergov't Commission 'Highlights Connectivity Between Countries'

Annual meeting of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation in New Delhi had connectivity issue on top of the agenda, Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a press-release on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – Expansion of bilateral cooperation in the key trade and investments areas, namely, oil and gas sphere, nuclear energy, space, modernization, high technology, disaster management, supercomputing and pharmaceutical sector was covered during the 22nd session of the Commission, devoted to discussion of the preparations for the forthcoming India-Russia Annual Summit. Academic and cultural exchange and tourism were introduced as the new domains on the Commission’s agenda.

"Connectivity was a major theme of discussion during the meeting of the Commission. Implementation of the International North South Transport Corridor project and the launch of the ‘Green Corridor’ project for customs facilitation are major steps towards better connectivity and trade facilitation," the press release read.

Implementing of the International North South Transport Corridor, INSTC, and establishing the "Green Corridor" are supposed to promote multinational trade by means of reducing the distance and transport costs and facilitating customs procedures.

Initially, the INSTC was set up in 2000 in order to foster cooperation between Russia, Iran and India in the transport sector. The quantity of the project’s members has increased up to 14 so far.