Gurgaon (Haryana) [India], August 14 (ANI): Former Indian Ambassador to Russia, Ajai Malhotra, on Thursday backed the expansion of the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor into a wider connectivity network through the Bering Strait, Northern Sea Route, and Northern Europe, calling it a huge opportunity for India.

In an interview with ANI, Malhotra said the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor should not be viewed as an isolated India-Russia shipping project and could serve as a southern entry point for a much larger maritime network.

'Yes, indeed. I have backed it for a long (time). The Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor should not be viewed as an isolated India-Russia shipping project,' Malhotra said.

Recalling an earlier effort, he said, 'In 1993, we did have a Mumbai-Vladivostok corridor, but that didn't work out because you couldn't go far enough and find enough business to carry trade commodities up and down. Now we think that the possibilities are there.'

Malhotra said Japan and Northern European countries could also be involved in the expanded network.

'It would be interesting to involve also Japan and the Northern Europeans going ahead. And so, you should view the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor as a southern entry point for a much larger maritime network which will extend, as you said, through the Bering Strait, through the Northern Sea Route to Northern Europe, onwards to Rotterdam,' he said.

Highlighting the growing use of the Northern Sea Route, Malhotra said China had already begun using the route for container shipping.

'In fact, you may have noted that yesterday, the Chinese, for example, have already started using this corridor and are providing a weekly service by which you can now ship from a place called Ningbo, a port to Felixstowe in the UK, which is the largest container port there,' he said.

'So, now throughout the year you can; this service is already available as of yesterday. So, we should not fall behind in that,' he added.

Malhotra said the expanded maritime connectivity could help India reduce costs and create alternatives to traditional shipping routes. 'I think it's a huge opportunity and it'll really cut costs, especially when you're looking at Bab el-Mandeb, Suez, Gibraltar, etc. And it's good to have alternatives to that,' he said.

Chennai-Vladivostok Corridor is a tropical, open-ocean route connecting India to the Russian Far East.

Earlier in July 2024, addressing Indians living in Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a community programme in Moscow said that India and Russia are working on the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor.

PM Modi said that they are discovering each other through the Ganga-Volga dialogue.

'Two years ago, the first commercial consignment also reached here from the North-South Transport Corridor... Now we are also working on the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor. Both our countries are discovering each other through Ganga-Volga dialogue and civilisation,' he said.

The joint Statement following the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit expressed readiness to actively work to expand logistics links with an emphasis on increasing the capacity of infrastructure, including for the implementation of the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor and the International North-South Transport Corridor, as well as using the potential of the Northern Sea Route. (ANI)