Ambani pullout is cold water on PM Russia trip

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached Moscow tonight amid slight disquiet among his hosts over the visit falling short on profile. Events and agreements have not panned out the way they had been planned.

To begin with,Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani,who chairs the Indo-Russian CEOs’ Council on the Indian side,opted out despite repeated requests. The Prime Minister’s Office is learnt to have specially got in touch with him to persuade him to change his mind,but Ambani is said to have declined,citing scheduling issues. As a result,the event has been downgraded to a CEOs’ meet instead of a CEOs’ council.

The countries had decided to put special focus on the business relationship to bolster trade and investment,which has not kept pace with developments in other bilateral spheres. The CEOs meet on Friday was billed as an important event to encourage private sector cooperation. The council was set up three years ago by the commerce ministers.