Ukrainian machinery fell to the liking of Indian customers.
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin on October 5-6, was an official visit to India. He held talks with Minister of foreign Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj. Agreement was reached on holding the November meeting of the joint intergovernmental Commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical, industrial and cultural cooperation in Kiev.
As reported by Indian newspaper the Hindu, visit klimkina can mean “new phase” in relations between the two countries in political, military and diplomatic sphere after a four-year gap. The last time India on an official visit on the part of Ukraine called for the former President Viktor Yanukovych in 2012, Klimkin and Swaraj discussed the possibilities for implementing visits at the highest level next year. The Ukrainian mass-media focused on the agreements Klimkin with Indian colleagues on the development of joint film production in Ukraine. Although cooperation with India is interesting for Ukraine not only because of the ability to become a platform for film Directors from bollywood.
India is interested in Ukraine as an alternative to Russia in terms of sales of industrial products. From 2013 to 2016, Russia’s share in Ukrainian exports of goods decreased from 23.8% to 10.7% (from 15.07 billion. dollars. to 3.95 billion dollars). After the annexation by Russia of Crimea and the occupation of separate districts of Donetsk and Luhansk region, Ukraine imposed anti-Russian sanctions and ceased to deliver to Russia dual-purpose products. From 2015 the aircraft industry of the Ukrainian plant “Motor Sich” has stopped to deliver to Russia of engines TV3-117, VK-2500 and auxiliary power unit AI-9V, which are used in the production of Russian civilian and military helicopters Mi-8, Mi-24, Mi-35, Mi-17, Mi-171, Mi-28, Ka-31, Ka-32 and Ka-52 various modifications. Orders from Russia accounted for 40% of the production volume of the enterprise. With Russian enterprises have ceased production cooperation in aircraft building concern “Antonov”, the manufacturer of gas turbine engines “Zorya-mashproyekt”, the plant “Khartron” and “Arsenal”, in which Russia bought of the control system and homing ballistic missiles. In 2013, the military-technical cooperation with Russia was carried out 89 Ukrainian plants.
In the industry of car building of the Russian government instituted a protectionist policy long before the military conflict in order to support their producers. Now, in order to sell any of the equipment or equipment in Russia any producer must have a certificate of conformity of Customs Union (TRCU), which may not get each of the foreign companies. Especially if it is a competitor to Russian factories. Long before a military conflict, Russian media appeared the misinformation about the low quality of goods and components of Ukrainian origin. In the result of car-building plants of Ukraine, including “Azovmash”, “kvsz”, “Dneprovagonmash”, “OMZ Karpaty” have completely lost access to the Russian market.
Cooperation between Ukraine and India exist since the Soviet era, when immigrants from the USSR participated in the construction of Indian industrial enterprises and infrastructure. Lately, Indian officials began to pay attention to the Ukrainian industry. In June, Kiev was visited by the Indian diplomat Sujata Mehta, who stressed Ukraine’s interest to participate in the program of military modernization of the Indian army and in several research projects in the field of aviation and aerospace industry. The program of military modernization involves improvement of technical equipment of the Indian army without a reduction of personnel. India is modernizing armored forces, naval and air force, is developing missile defense. India wants to dominate the Indian ocean and plans to Commission 150 ships of war in 10-15 years to strengthen its Navy (150 ships).
Engine proizvodnja enterprise “Zorya-Mashproekt”
According to the newspaper The Hindu, two weeks before Klimkin’s visit to India, Ukraine was visited by the Minister of heavy industry and public enterprises of India Anant Gite, accompanied by representatives of the Indian plants Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd., Hindustan Machine Tools. In November 2016, he visited the Nikolaev plant “Zorya-Mashproekt”. In the same year, agreement was reached on expanding cooperation. Earlier, India purchased at the enterprise “Zorya-Mashproekt” engines Assembly marine application. India is one of the leading partners of Ukraine in the sphere of purchase of military products for marine use. In March 2016, the Indian company Reliance Defence and aircraft manufacturing concern “Antonov” agreed to cooperate in the field of transport aircraft dual-use for military and commercial use in India. The Indian leadership is interested to purchase 500 of these machines. In August last year studied the possibility of participation of Ukraine in the modernization of T-72 tanks that are in service in the Indian army. The Indian military is used by more than thousands of such tanks. Ukraine plans five-fold increase in the volume of military-technical cooperation with India through 2019.
At the same time, the Indian media focus on the fact that the problem in relations between Ukraine and India is an active military-technical cooperation of our manufacturers with Pakistan, which is the main geopolitical rival India in South Asia. With the 40-ies of India and Pakistan have fought several times. Disputes over Kashmir, Siachen glacier, is still not resolved. The border confrontation between India and Pakistan in 2001, almost escalated into a large-scale conflict involving nuclear weapons. In 1996-1999 between Ukraine and Pakistan operated the contract for the supply of 320 tanks T-80UD production of the Kharkov plant them. Malysheva in the amount of USD 650 million. In July 2017 the Ambassador of Pakistan in Ukraine Athar Abbas expressed interest in the acquisition of over 100 tanks “Oplot”. Ukraine also plans to modernize armored vehicles of Pakistani military.
Competitors for Ukrainian manufacturers in the arms market of India are Russia and the United States. India imported from Russia 310 T-90S tanks. In 2016 approved a contract for the purchase of 464 tanks T-90MS “Tagil”. At the same time Russia and India agreed to supply to India antiaircraft-rocket complexes With-400, on the construction of frigates of project 11356, the creation of joint ventures for the Assembly of Ka-226T. In 2017, the Russian company rostec have agreed to supply to India of 48 Mi-17V-5 helicopters, 4 frigates. India purchased from Russia 272 su-30MKI.
Over the past two years, the United States entered in the list of the main suppliers of arms of India. In 2013 India imported from the US weapons worth $ 1.9 billion, including American military transport aircraft C-17A aircraft P-8I. The President of the United States Donald trump agreed with Prime Minister modi Narenda on the delivery of 100 aircraft during his visit to India in June 2017. All thanks to the reliability and ease of use of domestic military and civilian equipment, the Ukrainian producers have a chance to find their niche in the market of India and perhaps other South Asian countries, if products will be competitive in price. Quality we are not behind Russia.
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