Jairam Ramesh to lead delegation to Uzbek
New
Delhi,
Apr
9:
Minister
of
State
for
Commerce
Jairam
Ramesh
is
leading
a
multi-sectoral
delegation
to
Azerbaijan
and
Uzbekistan
for
a
week
from
tomorrow,
boosting
bilateral
economic
relationships
covering
both
investment
and
trade.
According
to
an
official
release
issued
here
today,
Mr
Ramesh
will
sign
the
first-ever
agreement
with
Azerbaijan
for
establishing
the
India-Azerbaijan
Intergovernmental
Commission
on
Trade,
Economic,
Scientific
and
Technological
Cooperation.
Along
with
the
Managing
Director
of
ONGC
Videsh,
he
will
also
pursue
India's
interests
for
oil
and
gas
exploration
in
Azerbaijan.
ONGC
Videsh
has
identified
some
promising
prospects
which
it
would
like
to
develop.
Azerbaijan
have
re-emerged
as
a
major
oil-rich
country
with
the
commissioning
of
the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline
that
links
Azerbaijan,
Georgia
and
Turkey
and
is
the
world's
second
longest
oil
pipeline
connecting
rich
Caspian
Sea
oil
reserves
with
the
Mediterranean
Sea.
Senior
officials
from
MMTC
and
the
National
Mineral
Development
Corporation
(NMDC)
are
accompanying
Mr
Ramesh
to
explore
the
possibilities
of
entering
into
a
Memorandum
of
Understanding
(MoU)
for
cooperation
in
the
mineral
sector
with
Azerbaijan.
BHEL
has
executed
a
major
project
for
the
supply
and
installation
of
power
generators.
Indian
pharmaceutical
companies
are
also
building
their
presence
in
Azerbaijan.
The
Minister's
visit
is
expected
to
give
a
fillip
to
these
efforts.
In
Tashkent,
Mr
Ramesh
will
chair
the
seventh
session
of
the
India-Uzbekistan
Intergovernmental
Commission.
Accompanied
by
senior
officials
of
GAIL,
Ministry
of
Petroleum&National
Gas,
he
will
pursue
with
the
Uzbek
government
the
projects
identified
by
GAIL
for
investment
in
Uzbekistan
in
petrochemicals,
LPG
and
city
gas
distribution.
In
addition,
GAIL
has
identified
four
natural
gas
exploration
and
production
blocks
in
Uzbekistan
on
which
it
would
like
to
move
forward.
ONGC
Videsh
is
also
interested
in
investing
in
gas
fields
in
the
country.
In
addition,
Mr
Ramesh
will
review
the
status
of
implementation
of
the
MoU
signed
in
November
2006
between
the
Uzbekistan
and
the
Cotton
Textiles
Export
Promotion
Council
of
India
(TEXPROCIL)
for
enhancing
cooperation
in
the
cotton
textile
sector.
The
public
sector
State
Trading
Corporation
is
also
exploring
a
ten-million-dollar
investment
in
the
nation
for
cotton-seed
processing.
Spentex,
a
private
company
of
India,
has
already
acquired
two
cotton-spinning
factories
in
Uzbekistan,
investing
close
to
80
million
dollars.
Accompanied
by
senior
officials
of
MMTC
and
the
National
Mineral
Development
Corporation
(NMDC),
Mr
Ramesh
will
also
explore
opportunities
of
intensified
cooperation
in
gold.
Uzbekistan
has
the
fourth
largest
gold
reserves
in
the
world
and
India
is
the
world's
largest
importer
of
gold(
700-800
tonnes
per
year).
UNI