Russia has shown keen interest in Indian companies taking over businesses abandoned by US and European companies amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

She wants Indian companies to use the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to do deals and establish themselves in Europe’s fastest-growing economy.

Alexey Valkov, deputy director of the Roscongress Foundation and director of SPIEF, said business line that the Russian economy has several niche areas that remained unoccupied by European and American companies that were forced to give up due to pressure from their governments.

Many local Russian companies are ready to take over these businesses, and countries such as China are also interested, he said.

There are many areas of interest to Indian investors and companies, such as automobile, transportation, textiles and light manufacturing, he said while announcing the SPIEF event, scheduled to take place between June 5 and 8 .

“It would not be right to talk about specific areas or business interests because although our trade with India is currently growing mainly in traditional areas of cooperation, we are seeing new and exciting developments,” he added.

The forum would provide an opportunity for equal dialogue between parties interested in developing mutually beneficial relations. This would provide a unique opportunity not only to do business in Russia, but also to take advantage of opportunities around the world, as St. Petersburg is geographically located in the middle between three continents, Valkov said.

The Russian-Indian Economic Forum will take place on the first day of the event, June 5th.

Commenting on the US economic sanctions, Alexey Surovtsev, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai, said that while pursuing its own interests, India keeps in mind long-term friendly relations that existed before India’s independence.

“We were just following the rules of doing business. SPIEF is an open platform that can ensure the security of all participants and, if necessary, the confidentiality of participation,” he said.