Skolkovo signed an agreement with India on Thursday to ramp up cooperation in the high-tech sector, part of a raft of deals overseen by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to New Delhi.
Skolkovo Foundation president Victor Vekselber, center, after the signing. Photo: sk.ru
Skolkovo Foundation president Victor Vekselberg signed the cooperation agreement, in Putin’s presence, with India’s Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council director DK Sareen.
“The information technology sector in the Indian economy has had very fast and sustainable growth rates in recent years,” Vekselberg said.
“As a result, India’s IT sector contributions to GDP amounts to 8.9 percent,” he added.
The agreement covers four areas: Information-sharing to create joint partnerships of startups interested in entering each other’s markets; creating joint programs to support collaborations between Russian and Indian innovative enterprises; promotional and networking activities to attract investment in both countries; and participation in various events in both countries.
Additionally, it foresees a startup exchange: Fifteen Skolkovo’s startups are invited to take part in IT conference Indiasoft-2015, which will be held in February in New Delhi. In return, Indian startups will take part in the international conference Startup Village 2015 - to be held in June at the Hypercube near Moscow.
“Exchanging experience with Indian companies has become vital for Russian startups,” Vekselberg noted.
The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, founded in 1989 and backed by the Indian government, is the country’s leading organization to support companies in their efforts to reach international markets. It unites over 2,300 companies engaged in the export of electronics hardware, information technology and services, IT-enabled services, telecom hardware and software. Companies supported by the council export to more than 200 countries.
The agreement is the latest example of cooperation between Skolkovo and India in recent months.
In July, Aniara, an Indian telecommunications company, ordered two geostationary satellites from the Russian division of the international private aerospace company Dauria Aerospace, a partner of the Skolkovo Foundation, on the sidelines of the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain.
Alongside the board meeting, the two companies signed an extension to the deal that sees ten Russian-produced satellites enter markets in Asia and the Middle East over the next five years.
In September, Skolkovo held its board meeting in Gurgaon, where Vekselberg noted that “business between Russia and India in the sphere of innovations has a wide field of activity and space for joint projects.”