Team Herald

PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that the State has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russia for business and tourism cooperation. 

“It (visit to Russia) is under the National Programme of Cooperation between the two countries (India and Russia) over prospects for business and tourism,” he told the reporters on the sidelines of State level Independence Day function, on Thursday. 

He said that government was open to render assistance for investment by Russia in the State. 

“The MoU is signed on cooperation between the two countries and Goa being a mining State,” he said, a day after returning from Russia.

“There was also a discussion on how to get more Russians visit Goa,” he added. 

The Russian tourists have topped the arrivals chart. However, drop in their arrivals has been a cause of concern for the government and stakeholders. 

Sawant was a part of the five-CM delegation led by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal that visited Russia.

The delegation had visited the Russian city of Vladivostok with an agenda to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various sectors. The MoU also covers other sectors including petroleum and natural gas, renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, and agriculture. This is the first time that a CM-level delegation led by the Central Indian Minister pitched for Indian investments abroad.