MMS targets India-EU trade to touch 100 billion Euros

Business Desk
The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, while addressing the Indo-EU Business Summit, on "India - EU: New Synergies for Partnership", jointly organized by CII, FICCI and MEDEF, France, in Paris today, emphasized the need to restore confidence in the international financial system. He said that the target set in yesterday's summit was to increase the annual India-EU trade volume to 100 billion Euros within the next five years.

The Prime Minister mentioned seven areas of cooperation between India and EU and hoped that in all these areas technology transfers would be key to promoting the synergies.

The first area of cooperation, he said could be Infrastructure, including power generation. He said that his government was placing special emphasis on both rural and urban infrastructure. Huge investments were needed in the areas of energy, power, roads, railways, airports and ports and expressed the hope that FDI would flow in large measure to boost India's infrastructure.

The second area of cooperation, he said, was the services sector, where collaboration between India and EU would be of mutual benefit.

In the area of skill development, Dr. Manmohan Singh felt that the expertise of the EU and India's needs for upgrading and developing the skills of its workforce would be of enormous help. Synergies in skill development, he said, would go a long way in promoting vocational training.

Development of solar energy, the Prime Minister said, was the fourth area of cooperation which should be taken up on priority. He informed the business delegates about the launch of the National Solar Programme which was part of the National Action Plan on Climate change.

Civil nuclear commerce, was another area which had opened up for collaboration following the Indo-French civil nuclear cooperation agreement, Dr. Manmohan Singh pointed out.

In the area of Agriculture, he said, business innovation and enterprise would be necessary to tackle the present agricultural crisis. The EU, he said should join hands with India in development of new technologies and improved seed and crop selection.

Lastly, the Prime Minister said, there was scope for cooperation on the use of outer space. "EU could make use of the launch vehicles for meeting launch requirements for small and medium lass payloads," he said.

Dr. Manmohan Singh urged the EU to "invest in the future of our relationship. India-EU economic and trade ties will not only be to our mutual benefit but will also be a stabilizing force for the global economy. I see a bright future for our partnership built on your innovation, dynamism and enterprise." " We could increase our annual bilateral trade volume to 100 billion Euros within the next five years, he added"

Mr Harshpati Singhania, Senior Vice President, FICCI and Managing Director , J K Paper Ltd, hoped that EU would address the concerns related to non tariff barriers. He suggested the introduction of a Delhi- Chennai Rail Corridor.

Mr Dhruv Sawhney, Past President CII and CMD, Triveni Engineering Industries Ltd., in his address, stressed the need for rapid change in investments which would be a win-win situation for both and skills development.