India- Relations

Political Relations:

Immediately after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Government of India recognized the Republic of Ukraine as a sovereign independent country in December 1991. The Embassy of India in was established in May 1992 and Ukraine opened its Mission in New Delhi in February 1993. India and Ukraine enjoy warm and friendly relations. The year 2012 marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

The MOUs/Agreements signed between India and Ukraine include agreements on Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, Agreement on Culture, Arts, Education, Tourism, Sports, Mass Media Cooperation, Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Merchant Shipping Agreement, Assistance on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Tourism, Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Standardization, Metrology, Conformity Assessment and Quality, Avoidance of Double Taxation, Promotion and Protection of Investments, Air Service Agreement, Extradition Treaty, Cooperation in Science and Technology, Foreign Office Consultation, Visa Free Travel by the holders of Diplomatic Passports. The agreements signed during the visit of President of Ukraine to India in December 2012 include: Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial matters, Defence Cooperation and Exchange of Technical Information and Cooperation in Nuclear Defence and Radiation Protection.

Recent visits: President of Ukraine, H.E. Mr. Victor Yanukovych, paid a State visit to India from December 9 -11, 2012. He was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defence, Minister of Agriculture, senior officials and a large business delegation. The Indo-Ukrainian Business Forum was jointly hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi. India and Ukraine have agreed to enhance mutually beneficial defence, cultural, educational, investment and other ties. A Joint Statement on forging a comprehensive partnership between India and Ukraine was issued during the visit. Earlier in 2011, Minister of Tourism, Shri Subodh Kant Sahai visited Ukraine from September 24-26, 2011. A Joint India- Ukraine Tourism Forum was set up during the visit. The then Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. paid an official visit to India from November 24-27, 2011.

The India-Ukraine Inter-governmental Commission for cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technological, industrial and cultural cooperation, established in April 1994, has so far held four meetings. Minister of State for External Affairs Shri E. Ahamed visited Kyiv from May 30 to June 2, 2012 to co-host its 4th meeting. A protocol was jointly signed by him and Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Mr. P. Poroshenko. Its next meeting is proposed to be held by the end of the year in New Delhi.

India gave a grant of US$ 1 million to Ukraine in 2012 for the Chernobyl Shelter Fund administered by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as announced during the Kyiv Summit for Safe and Innovative use of Nuclear Energy on April 19, 2011 (25th anniversary of Chernobyl tragedy).

ITEC Assistance/Other Training Programmes: India offers 17 scholarships to Ukraine under ITEC (15) and ICCR (2) schemes.

Trade & Economic Cooperation

India’s bilateral trade turnover has increased from USD 138.62 million in 1992 to USD to US$ 3,103.93 billion in 2012-13 (India’s exports were US$519.66 million and imports were US$2,584.27 million). The FDI from Ukraine to India was $1.12 million as on February 2013. Pharmaceuticals account for majority of Indian exports to Ukraine. (India is the second largest exporter of pharmaceutical products to Ukraine, after Germany, in value terms). A number of Indian companies like Ranbaxy, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Sun Group etc. have their representative offices in Ukraine. Representatives of major pharmaceutical companies have set up an ‘Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association in Ukraine. The trade figures for the last 5 years are as follows:

Values in US $ Millions S. No. Year 2008-09 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-12 2012-13

1. EXPORT 400.70 289.03 514.28 491.22 519.66

2. %Growth -27.87 77.93 -4.48 5.79

3. IMPORT 1,538.13 1,593.52 1,418.46 2,374.23 2,584.27

4. %Growth 3.60 -10.99 67.38 8.85 TOTAL 5. 1,938.83 1,882.55 1,932.73 2,865.45 3,103.93 TRADE 6. %Growth -2.90 2.67 48.26 8.32 [Source: DGCI&S]

The Ministry of Commerce through FICCI held the first ever exclusive Made in India Show in Kyiv from September 5-9, 2012. FICCI also held Business Buyer- Seller Meet and a Joint Business Council meeting during the India Show.

The meetings of Joint Working Groups e.g. on Fertilizers (March 20, 2013); Trade and Economic Cooperation (March 20-21, 2013); Tourism (April 8, 2013); Pharmaceutical (April 15-16, 2013); and S&T (April 22-23, 2013) were held in April 2013 in New Delhi.

2 Culture:

There is great interest in Indian culture in Ukraine at the public level, covering various aspects such as dances, yoga, philosophy, ayurveda and spirituality. There are more than 30 Ukrainian cultural associations/groups spread across the country, engaged in the promoting Indian dances. Most groups have learnt the Indian dances on their own and are promoting the same through festivals and by running dance classes. An organization called “All Ukrainian Association of Indologists” is engaged in organizing seminars, exhibitions on different topics relating to India. In 2012, the Embassy with the support of India Club organized cultural events in Ukraine to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Ukraine. A short term India Chair was set up at the Institute of international Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine. All Ukrainian-Indian Dance Festival with 25 dance groups from different regions of Ukraine was held on September 22, 2012. ICCR sponsored ‘MotherJane’ rock band performed in Yalta, Simferopol, Odessa Kharkov and Kyiv in September 2012. Four Ukrainian organization/artistes, involved in the promotion of Indian dance and culture, were given grant-in-aid last year. There has been a growing interest among the Ukrainian tourists to visit India. The number of business and tourist visas to Ukrainian visitors has been on the rise. A Ukrainian Hindi teacher of the Taras Shevchenko National University, Kyiv was awarded the Vishwa Hindi Samman at 9th World Hindi Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2012.

Indian community:

The size of the Indian community in Ukraine, excluding students, is estimated to be about one thousand. There are about 4,000 Indian students enrolled in various Ukrainian medical/technical universities. Most Indians here are in business, representing various Indian firms, some in exports, and a few in manufacturing. The local Indian community has formed an association called “India Club” which organizes cultural events. The Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association was set up nearly ten years ago. An Indian NRI businessman has been awarded Parvasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) in January 2012.

**** September 2013

3