Kolkata Feb 25 PTI Shipping liners have stopped booking export cargo destined for Russian and Ukrainian ports officials said on FridayRussia is the topmost destination for Indias engineering exports in the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS regionMany shipping liners stopped supplying containers and taking bookings for Russian ports due to geopolitical uncertainty MSC which is a leader in global container shipping from eastern ports has also stopped booking West Bengal Custom House Agents Society president Sujit Chakraborty told PTIEngineering products exporter Nipha Exports director Rakesh Shah said his company has a consignment for Russia but his liner HAPAG-Llyod has stopped container booking due to the situationThis ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict may act as the most prominent deterrent in fulfilling the engineering exports target as the last quarter especially the month of March usually sees a substantial jump in exports EEPC India chairman Mahesh Desai told PTIIf the strife continues for some more days exports to Russia may not reach the expected level by the end of the fiscal Desai saidEngineering exports to India was recorded at USD 54441 million in 2018-19 and then surged by 36 per cent to reach an all-time high at USD 74089 million in 2019-20Bilateral trade between India and Russia stood at USD 119 billion in 2021 India exported USD 33 billion worth of goods and pharmaceutical products were the largest export commodity at USD 542 millionIndias exports to Ukraine stood at USD 510 million last year with pharma products making up 32 per cent of it Other exports include telecom instruments iron and steel agrochemicals coffee etcThe two-way trade between India and Ukraine was USD 31 billion in 2021 India imported goods worth USD 26 billion from Ukraine last year USD 185 billion of which is vegetable oils mainly sunflower oil PTI BSM NN NN

Minsk [Belarus], November 12 (ANI/Sputnik): Batches of Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine manufactured in Belarus will be ready for distribution in the summer of 2022, with Belarus expected to churn out about 10 million doses per year, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said on Friday.

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 16 (ANI): The Taliban have rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that the Islamic State (IS) has a presence in the north of Afghanistan, reported local media.