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According to Sergey Krasilnikov, Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), the growing demand for skilled labor in Russia opens up new opportunities for Indian workers.
Krasilnikov said that Russia needs 5 million workers from abroad, and India can help fill this deficit. He also said that the Russian business community has received a direct order from the Kremlin to increase imports from India.
«We calculated that Russia needs about 5 million workers from abroad. And this (India) is a fairly large market. We are here only to provide direct access to Russian enterprises that need Indian labor,» he said in an exclusive interview with Business Today.
Krasilnikov detailed the negotiations between the Russian delegation and their Indian counterparts during the two-day Indian-Russian business forum in New Delhi. He also emphasized that Russian importers have received direct instructions from President Vladimir Putin to increase imports from India.
«We came here on the direct instructions of our government to purchase Indian goods. We are here only to effectively do our job together with our Indian partners. Because our trade is unbalanced. We sell India 10 times more than we buy,» he explained.
Responding to a question about the political changes needed to develop this partnership, Krasilnikov noted the importance of concluding a free trade agreement (FTA). «This is one of the priorities, and our colleagues started negotiations in November. They will continue in February, and we hope that we can reduce tariffs on key Indian goods. For example, in the textile industry they reach 12%. This prevents some industries from effectively purchasing Indian goods,» said Krasilnikov.
He also touched upon the problems related to sanctions and what he called «over-compliance.» «In my opinion, this is over-compliance. We also discussed logistics and transport links, and this is a serious problem. We support FESCO’s project (one of the largest transport and logistics companies in Russia) to create a container line between Chennai and Vladivostok. But we need Indian goods.» They (Russians) mainly import coal, but they still need to find some goods so as not to go to Vladivostok empty-handed,» added Krasilnikov.
Supporting these sentiments, Manish Kumar, President of Saltex Group, emphasized that India has the potential for closer integration with the Russian economy through skilled labor. «Russia needs 5 million workers. Russia is our close ally, and we must integrate into their economy through our skilled labor so that both sides benefit. We need jobs for our youth, and Russia needs skilled workers,» said Kumar.
Kumar also spoke about his group’s initiative to train welders for the Russian market. «From December 15, we are launching a technical program for welders at a very well-known Russian university. Welders will be trained on Russian welding equipment that we import from Russia. Everything has already been agreed, and when the program starts, trained welders who speak Russian will go there,» he explained.
«After that, we plan to take up robotics, drones and other areas that Russia needs. We must create an ecosystem in India in which skilled specialists are trained in accordance with Russia’s requirements, rather than simply sending them finished products. We must understand their requirements too,» added Kumar.
The President of Saltex Group once again emphasized the importance of concluding a free trade agreement. «India needs to conclude a free trade agreement because Russia is not just the Russian market, it is a union of five countries. This is a huge market, and as soon as we conclude a free trade agreement and remove tariff barriers, it will really accelerate trade,» concluded Kumar.
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