The first day of the two day Dialogue between Indo-Russian Defence Industry jointly organized by FICCI and Economic Development Board, Government of Andhra Pradesh focused on opportunities for collaboration in the defence sector with special emphasis on naval technologies apart from raising the status of partnership and collaboration in aerospace and defence. Vishakhapatnam stands as a testimony to the friendly ties and strategic partnership between Andhra Pradesh and Russia in defence and shipbuilding. This dialogue also seeks to lay the ground work for investments in aerospace and defence in view of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposed visit to India during the BRICS Summit 2016 scheduled in Goa. This event was addressed by Rear Admiral L.V SaratBabu, Chairman – Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, AVSM Flag Officer Commanding in Chief – Eastern Naval Command, Mr. Alexey L. Rakhmanov, President – United Shipping Corporation, Mr. J Krishna Kishore, CEO – Economic Development Board and Mr. Kartikeya Misra, Director – Industries and Commerce, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Speaking on the occasion, Rear Admiral L.V SaratBabu said that “Shipbuilding is central to India’s strategic interest especially for a maritime nation like ours and Andhra Pradesh has natural advantages due to its ecosystem. The focus for the government of Andhra Pradesh is on indigenization as 45% of input requirements are imported. Indigenization can contribute towards 3% of GDP and accelerate manufacturing from 16% to 25% which is desired aim of the government.”
Vice Admiral Bisht stated that closed ties between India and Russia have been most enduring since World War II and Vishakhapatnam has been a key pillar of collaboration. Vishakhapatnam is perfectly poised to take advantage of ‘Make in Andhra Pradesh’ with special emphasis on shipbuilding and collaborate towards achieving the goal of self-reliance.
Mr. Rakhmanov was enthused by the vision of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh – Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu’s vision and energy and will consider Andhra Pradesh not only as a base for India but also the world market. United Shipping Corporation of Russia is one of the largest ship building corporations in the world. Mr. Rakhmanov anmounced that United Shipping Corporation will set up their manufacturing base in Vishakhapatnam and closely work towards indigenization.
Mr. Krishna Kishore and Mr. Kartikeya Misra spoke about opportunities that Andhra Pradesh has to offer to companies from Russia in defence and aerospace. Andhra Pradesh has a strong presence of defence public sector u units that focus on missile testing, optical and optoelectronic devices manufacturing, satellite launching stations and shipyards and is ideal for attracting investments in aerospace and defence.