Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma is leaving on Thursday on a 12-day tour which will take him to the US, Russia, Britain, France and Spain.
The first leg of his visit begins with the St Petersburg International Economic Forum meeting.
A high-ranking business delegation comprising among others CII president Hari S Bhartia, DLF chairman K P Singh and Wockhardt managing director Murtaza Khorakiwala will
accompany him at the annual St Petersburg meeting.
"In our meetings with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other ministers, we will be discussing how to increase bilateral trade to USD 20 billion by 2015 from USD
7.4 billion in 2009," a ministry official who will be accompanying the delegation said.
In Madrid, Sharma will attend the India-Spain joint commission for economic cooperation on June 21. "We will discuss issues related to the WTO, progress in the Doha Round,
India-EU bilateral trade and investment agreement negotiations and Spain's presidency of the EU," the source said.
Besides, bilateral cooperation in areas like renewable energy, infrastructure, financial sector and agriculture and food processing will also be reviewed, he added.
The Indo-US CEOs Forum is scheduled for June 22 in Washington. The forum will give impetus to the economic ties between the two countries, he said.
In his meeting with US trade representative Ron Kirk and commerce secretary Gary Locke, Sharma is expected to review
the bilateral and multilateral issues like the progress in the Doha negotiations for a global trade agreement.
To enhance bilateral trade the minister will participate in the Indo-French joint commission on June 23-24 in Paris.
Also, he would attend the Indo-French CEOs Forum and a rountable with Comite Colbert, which is an association of French luxury brands. The India-France trade stood at USD 7.6 billion in 2008-09. "We are looking at doubling trade with
France in the next five years," the official said.
During his last leg of his tour, Sharma will participate in the CII-London School of Economics meeting.