Czech envoy urges India-Europe to lead in entrepreneurship
India is negotiating a connectivity partnership with the European Union which is to further connect people-to-people and build on trade, business and technology sectors in the coming times, said Sandeep Chakravorty, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.
The EU will be coming out with its own Indo Pacific strategy, noted Chakravorty in his address to the session on “India-Europe & CIS Day: Strengthening Economic Relations – The Way Forward” at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s International Week, on 17 Mar 2021.
“The EU is our largest trading partner and the second-largest destination for Indian exports,” he pointed out, adding that despite the pandemic-imposed challenges, India’s engagement with Europe has gone up and will only intensify further in the coming times.
Chakravorty informed that the EU is a strong economic partner to India and the Indian Government is looking at the EU with encouragement and optimism.
Envoys from the EU also gave insights into each of their countries’ interests in India.
“There are changes in the ways we produce, communicate and consume in every sector and industry,”
Francois Delhaye, Belgium Ambassador in New Delhi, called for focus on business opportunities especially green economy, pharmaceutical, logistics, and infrastructure.
Belgium, he said, is one of the top EU trading partners and one of the largest investors in India. He emphasized on maximizing opportunities and minimizing risks in businesses, post the pandemic, between India and Belgium.
“Ensuring greater investment, security, multiple protection of intellectual property, and taking care of the existing trade tariffs will help us to unlock the full potential of our economic relations,” said Delhaye.
India and Europe should take lead in the areas of entrepreneurship, ease of doing business and sustainable business partnerships, added Milan Hovorka, Ambassador, Embassy of Czech Republic.
Europe and India should be instrumental in ensuring seamless flow of international trade between the regional markets. Emphasis needs to be reinstalled in areas of climate change and environment protection, reestablishment of people-to-people contact and promote tourism amongst nations, said Hovorka.
India and Kyrgyzstan should explore potential areas of economic cooperation including green products, tourism, textile, and commodities, according to Ambassador Asein Isaev of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Slovenia and India should focus on the areas like automobile manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceutical, electronic, ICT services, machinery and equipment, food processing and engineering, water, and waste management solutions, Slovenian Ambassador Dr. Marjan Cencen said. “Both the countries can establish strong bilateral trade agreements to foster seamless trade exchange in the times to come.”
Poland is a reliable partner in central Europe and there is an increase in bilateral trade with India which can be further expanded in the areas like fintech, cyber cities, drones, green technologies, Medtech and agritech, innovation, and research, added Polish Ambassador Adam Burakowski.
India is one of the top countries for polish investors, he pointed out.
The European industries must turn to India as a reliable alternative value chain and the new dimension opening are in sectors such as digital economy, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, said the Indian Ambassador to Austria, Jaideep Mazumdar.
There has been a proactive and intense dialogue and working groups for various sectors which will significantly provide a boost in the trade and business ties between India and the EU, according to Santosh Jha, Ambassador, Embassy of India, Belgium & Luxembourg & EU.
India, Europe, and CIS are increasing their global footprints, they are also seen as regional leaders, highlighted Purrshottam Bhaggeria, Chair, International Affairs Committee for Europe & CIS, PHD Chamber. He deliberated about the historic strength of India-Europe ties which share a common vision of world affairs and strong supporters of the multilateral system.
He called on the EU, India and CIS to exploit the full market potential in terms of economic structure, trade, and share the number of interests across a range of policy areas, including energy, climate change, environment, research and innovation, pharmaceuticals, biotechnologies, ICT, education and sustainable development.
The Indian Government is seeing the huge untapped potential in the CIS region by initiating programs and schemes to develop close economic cooperation, according to Bhaggeria.
“There are good possibilities of investments and joint ventures, particularly for the MSMEs from both sides. The focus should on developing business linkages as they are the backbone for industrial development in any country,” he said. #investment #technology #manufacturing #projects #health /fiinews.com
