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Your Excellency, it's been less than a year since you began your diplomatic mission in Belarus. What was your impression of Belarus? What plans did you have in connection with the appointment? Which of them have you already managed to implement?
It has been about nine months since I arrived in this beautiful country of yours. So far, there has not been even a single bad experience, and hence, my initial impressions of Belarus are one of friendliness and cordiality. I remain absolutely positive that this impression will not change in the future.
I arrived in Belarus with several ideas and a strong hope of taking our relationship to even greater heights. In this regard, I had planned in the first six – nine months to have introductory visits to all the six regions of Belarus and establish initial contacts with local government authorities, officials of the Free Economic Zone and BelCCI regional branches, visit important industrial units in each region, and establish connection with all the educational institutions where Indian students are
studying.
I am happy to report that I have managed to achieve this in all the regions of Belarus except Brest. It is quite possible that be the time this interview is published I would have visited Brest, too.
I also planned in the very initial months to interact with Indian student community across Belarus. I have managed to meet Indian students in all the four regional universities (Minsk, Gomel, Grodno and Vitebsk).
Despite the ongoing pandemic and the resultant travel disruptions, the Indian Embassy, Minsk, in the last eight months has managed to have business delegations from India travel to Belarus and one Belarusian delegation travel to India.
Similarly, in the last eight months there have been several cultural events, including Indian Film Festival in all the regions of Belarus, an Exhibition on Indian textiles in several Belarusian cities; and an Iconic Week of Indian Culture was celebrated in Vitebsk in January 2022.
In this period, we have also managed to resume some of the activities that were temporarily paused due to the pandemic, such as Yoga training at the Embassy, training classes in Indian dance forms and teaching of Hindi language.
Hence, I look back with satisfaction at this brief duration of time since I arrived. However, we have plans to do much more in my remaining tenure here and we look forward to the support of our Belarusian friends in the realization of our common objectives.
How could you assess the current level of bilateral cooperation? How the recent challenges (the pandemic, restrictions, the current situation in our region) have affected bilateral trade and business contacts? Which spheres have been the most vulnerable?
India and Belarus have historically enjoyed a robust and friendly relationship. Over the past three decades, our ties across a vast spectrum of activities have gone from strength to strength. However, this is not to say that we have already achieved all that we could. Some aspects of our association – trade and tourism, for instance,– remain way below their true potential. The good thing is that both the parties are aware of this shortfall and are willing to enhance our efforts towards fulfilling our true potential.
The ongoing pandemic has not spared any country or any aspect of our lives including international relations. We too have naturally suffered. Pandemic's adverse impact has particularly affected the tourism sector and various activities affiliated with this sector. The heavy disruption in global transportation and supply chains are other areas where the impact is stark, and possibly, long-lasting.
What successful and promising investment and joint business projects of the two countries are being implemented in Belarus or India?
We have a few ongoing joint business projects between India and Belarus.
a. Novalok (a Lok Beta investment in pharmacy) is a company in the Grodno Region of Belarus. They set up their unit six years ago. The venture is in the process of obtaining the requisite approvals before starting full production.
b. Nativita, a pharmaceutical company in the Vitebsk Region, was founded with investment from M/s Natco Pharma Ltd., India, and continues to operate as an India-Belarus joint venture.
c. Yusuf Hamied Pharma R&D Center in Minsk is a joint venture of Cipla and AcademPharm, and is functioning under the oversight of the Belarus Academy of Sciences.
d. There are ongoing discussions for a joint project between Minsk Tractor Works and Erisha Agritech Private Limited of India. Progress has been affected by issues in the logistic chains and payment arrangements, but negotiations continue.
e. The producer of agricultural machinery, Gomselmash, has identified an Indian partner and are exploring the possibility of joint production of harvesters in India.
What areas may be of interest to Indian capital in the Belarusian market?
Belarus is looking to increase local sourcing of pharmaceutical products and is keen to have investment from Indian companies in this area.
Belarus has historically enjoyed a reputation of being technologically advanced, especially in the defense sector. This is an area where we need to enhance our cooperation.
Tourism is another sector brimming with potential. The ongoing pandemic and the fragile security situation in the region have made our job extremely difficult as far as this sector is concerned, but I remain optimistic that these temporary setbacks will not stop us from realizing our potential in this field.
Information technology and IT-enabled services is another potential area where Indian capital and the highly skilled labour of Belarus could find a complementarity.
In which industries can Belarusian companies do business in India? Which fields do they primarily show interest in? What could you underline as the key advantages or opportunities offered by the Indian market for foreign companies?
Belarusian businessmen have shown interest in exporting dairy products, meat, confectionary, baby food and other consumables to India. There has been interest in outsourcing leather and footwear production to India.
There is also considerable interest in importing engineering parts, battery cells, and other products, as well as cane sugar and molasses for animal feed from India.
We are also keen to increase trade in the existing areas, such as supply of Indian medicines (bulk and retail), marine products, fruits, ceramic tiles and spices.
As for the investment sector, India encourages Belarus to invest in both agritech and manufacturing of heavy-duty vehicles. These are areas of Belarusian expertise that are of interest to India. Besides, as I have mentioned, defense-related technological cooperation should interest our Belarusian partners, too.
As the fastest growing large economy with a significant young population, India is the most lucrative market for foreign companies in several fields. Moreover, doing business in India is not limited to only the Indian market. Investors can use India as a manufacturing base and benefit from India's central geographical location in the export markets of South and South East Asia.
Such ventures can benefit from several recent business friendly initiatives that the Government of India has initiated under the dynamic leadership of our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. I introduced some of these incentives in my talk at BelCCI in early February this year.
To provide an example, we have a Production Linked Incentive Scheme in 14 sectors to attract investments and bring global competitiveness to domestic production and export viability, with a total outlay of USD 27 billion for the scheme. The incentives are available in the sectors of Pharma, Steel, Textiles, Telecom, Food Products, Electronics, etc.
India has the 2nd largest startup ecosystem in the world, with 95 companies valued at a minimum USD 1 billion.
The National Land Bank has enabled hassle-free land acquisition. Data for 4400 Industrial Parks have been mapped for prospective investors to enable hassle free land acquisition.
By 2030, India is expected to be the world's 3rd largest economy with a consumption market size of USD 5 trillion.
India is open for business. It welcomes friendly countries like Belarus to invest and be a part of the Indian growth story.
The advantages of India are huge. But are there any challenges that companies may face?
The primary challenge is one of awareness. There is very limited awareness about the opportunities in India among investors in Belarus and vice versa.
Another important challenge is to do with the geographical location that leads to inordinately long logistics chains that are vulnerable to disruption. The size of the market in Belarus is perceived as not large enough to justify significant investments to surmount these problems.
In recent times, financial arrangements have also emerged as a challenge to commercial cooperation between India and Belarus.
Besides, there are some challenges which have emerged in the recent past-pandemic and the conflict in the region which, in its wake, has brought further challenges for both our business communities.
What are the mechanisms you see to help the companies interested in partnership overcome the existing problems?
The Embassy, in association with the BelCCI, is working on holding regular meetings, Buyer-Seller Meets, Q&A Sessions etc. to help increase the level of awareness about India in Belarus.
In the larger context, we are working on various transport arrangements, such as the International North South Transport Corridor and the Ashgabat Agreement. We are also exploring various logistical alternatives to address the newer challenges. However, these things often take time.
What, in your opinion, are the main difference in the mentality, business ethics rules in Belarus and India?
Frankly, I do not find any major mindset differences. Of course, there are differences that emerge from separate cultural contexts; however, they do not significantly impact the business mindset. It is often said that capital flows where it flourishes. Thus, both our business communities are intelligent, agile and on constant look-out for better opportunities.
What should be considered first of all by businessmen of both countries who want to start mutually beneficial cooperation?
For businessmen, it is essential to match complementarities and establish familiarity with the local legal regimes.
In order to identify opportunities early and stay ahead of the curve in a dynamic economy like India, it is preferable to have local presence. Some Belarusian companies have acknowledged this requirement and have set up offices in India. It is understandable that some of the smaller enterprises may not be able to afford such a venture on their own. Interested companies could pool resources and set up a combined business presence in the form of representative offices.
What experience could the two countries learn from each other?
India has a rich experience in both IT and financial innovation. From providing back-office services to building software giants and having our own payment services system outside the Visa/Mastercard network, India has come a long way.
With the Make in India initiative and other reforms mentioned earlier, India is also looking to capitalize on its demographic dividend and become a manufacturing hub in the region.
There are lessons here in both attracting investments as well as advancing up the value chain in both manufacturing and services.
Similarly, Belarus has strong core competence in manufacturing, especially heavy-duty machinery. Defense technology is another area of strength. Besides, thanks to a highly skilled workforce, it is also an important hub in the field of IT.
Therefore, both states have much to offer each other and complement each other. India welcomes Belarusian businesses and seeks partnerships for the benefit of both economies.