St. Petersburg agreed with India on cooperation in shipbuilding and education

St. Petersburg and India will expand cooperation in shipbuilding, education and labor migration.

As reported in Smolny, issues of cooperation in various fields were discussed on Thursday in Smolny by Governor Alexander Beglov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Russian Federation Vinay Kumar. Beglov noted a significant increase in trade turnover between St. Petersburg and India: in 2023 it more than doubled.

— Our city is known in India as the most important shipbuilding center. St. Petersburg shipyards have repeatedly fulfilled government orders from your country, and today our large power engineering enterprises actively cooperate with it. They are involved in the implementation of key projects in India,” the governor recalled.

The head of the city drew attention to resolving the issue with the introduction of a new payment system for goods and services. The Russian Sberbank created a convenient scheme for mutual settlements in national currencies, which began to be used by other Russian banks.

Photo: press service of the administration of St. Petersburg

Photo: press service of the administration of St. Petersburg

Photo: press service of the administration of St. Petersburg

Photo: press service of the administration of St. Petersburg

In his response, the ambassador noted the great potential for cooperation between small and medium-sized businesses in Russia and India. Kumar also drew attention to the growing number of Indian students in St. Petersburg educational institutions. According to him, India is ready to donate books to educational institutions, develop scholarship programs, and organize conferences. The ambassador also proposed strengthening ties between museums and expanding cooperation in the field of preserving cultural heritage and historical monuments.

Earlier, 78.ru wrote that Sri Lanka may extend the issuance of free visas to Russians after April 30.