Russian and Indian Leaders to Discuss Diamond Trade During Putin Visit
October 10, 16
(IDEX Online) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will talk about how to increase trade in diamonds when Putin visits at the end of this week.
Modi will explain the measures that New Delhi is formulating to simplify tax and customs procedures to enable Russian traders to more easily export rough diamonds to India directly and avoiding the need for intermediaries, the Deccan Herald reported, citing sources.
Modi and Putin will hold their annual meeting in Goa on October 15 before joining their counterparts from Brazil, China and South Africa for the eighth BRICS summit.
India imported around 38% of global rough supply in 2015, the report said. However, 80% of India’s rough imports from Russia arrive via third countries.
There are currently 12 Indian companies with long-term rough diamond supply contracts with ALROSA, compared with nine in 2014.
A special customs zone was established in the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai last year to enable direct diamond supplies from abroad.