Dear Reader,

Greetings. Energy has emerged as the key element of economic development, across the world. There is insatiable demand for energy from the fast-growing economies of countries such as India and China. Energy security is as important as food security, the two being interdependent. Having achieved food security, India is striving to achieve energy security. Towards this end, India's ONGC Videsh and GAIL have been looking at the prospects of acquiring oil and gas fields respectively in promising regions as distant as Latin America. Of course, Indian companies know that proximity matters most in terms of cost reduction in operations as well as imports. It is in this regard that the CIS region holds bight prospects for energy-starved India. Having blessed with huge oil and gas reserves, the CIS offers the big boon that India is looking for very keenly. The recent week-long visit of India's Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan has facilitated the signing of MOUs between ONGC Videsh and GAIL on behalf of India and their CIS counterparts. The cover story of the current issue of Indo-CIS Business covers this crucial cooperation in the field of oil and gas between India and the two oil and gas-rich CIS member-countries. Leading the CIS countries in energy is Russia, where energy-efficient projects are placed under a premium by the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD). We carry a report under the focus section. India's Commerce Ministry has selected CIS, along with Africa and Latin America as the “Focus” regions for promoting bilateral trade. The Export Import Bank of India, which has been playing the pivotal role of a catalyst and facilitator by extending various lines of credit to financial institutions from these three regions, has announced excellent results for the financial year 2006-07, ending March. The current issue covers the Bank's performance in 2006-07, its Sliver Jubilee Year. Since 1986, the Bank has been holding the Commencement Annual Day Lecture, inviting eminent personalities to deliver it and in 2007, it was Prof. David Hulme, an authority on issues concerning the eradication of poverty. We carry a detailed report of the lecture. At the annual general meeting of the EBRD, held recently, the Bank's President, Jean Lemierre reiterated EBRD's commitment to the promotion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), corporate sector and private investment. The issue highlights the Bank's AGM proceedings. The tourism section takes you back to the times of Timur, the warrior-king, who ruled the region, what today is known as Uzbekistan and also Turkmenistan, the land of many lakes. The magazine carries, as usual all other regular features.

Wish you happy reading

 

Satya Swaroop
Managing Editor
satya@newmediacomm.biz