India has been systematically opening up to global investors and encouraging new businesses by forging strategic relationships with international investment partners. This will help in achieving a V-shaped recovery of the Indian economy. This was stated by Piyush Goyal, Minister for Commerce & Industry and Railways, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India while speaking at the inaugural session of The Partnership Summit 2020 organised virtually by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
FDI flows in India have grown at an impressive rate of 13% on a yearly basis to stand at US$ 40 billion even during the peak pandemic period of April-September FY21. “India has one of the most facilitative and congenial FDI policies in the world currently, with almost all sectors having 100% automatic FDI approvals in place,” the Minister highlighted.
Elaborating on the reforms recently introduced by the government, Mr Goyal stated, “India has focussed on reforms in 4 key areas for facilitating growth- capital, labour, land and removing barriers for new businesses”. “Our intent is bold, ambition is large and actions are focused. We aim not only to grow sustainably at high levels, but also achieve the target of becoming a US$5 trillion economy by 2025,” he added.
The historic reforms in different sectors like defence, mining, finance, agriculture and labour will hold the country in good stead. Further, the aspiration to see India go Glocal- providing world class infrastructure locally- along with a burgeoning middle-class, offers a sea of opportunities for global investors, the Hon’ble Minister stated.
H E Dr Bandula Gunawardhana, Minister of Trade, Government of Sri Lanka, stated that global trade has already resumed after the knock due to the pandemic. The use of digitisation to strengthen supply chain management should be the new norm among business communities, according to Dr Gunawardhana. He said that India and Sri Lanka have historical relations which are being strengthened.
“Countries are working hard to create resilience to emerge from COVID-19. The only way to overcome the crisis is to collaborate in regional & global partnerships”, maintained H E Dr Than Myint, Minister of Commerce, Myanmar.
H E Ville Tapio Skinnari, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Finland emphasised that the thrust should be on accelerating investments for a greener and cleaner future and making sustainable business a bedrock for growth. He noted the strong collaboration of India and Finland in digital businesses.
Noting the rise of new opportunities in a post pandemic world, H E Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, stated that to effectively tackle the pandemic, the world requires co-operation and not isolation. India and the UAE have strong trade, investment and remittance links which have high future potential, he added.
Highlighting the importance of forging partnerships in the current milieu, Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, DPIIT stated that global cooperation and deepening solidarity were the need of the hour for finding sustainable solutions for strengthening growth recovery.
Mr Uday Kotak, President, Confederation of Indian Industry, stated that CII expects growth to rebound strongly in 2021, He highlighted seven areas where global partnerships must focus including a stronger multipolar world, support measures for overcoming Covid shocks, and trade and investments. He emphasized employment generation and healthcare as important priorities and called for facilitative policies for industrial competitiveness.
Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry said that the Partnership Summit which coincides with 125 years of CII, will see participation from over 5000 delegates from around 100 countries over the next four days. There will be deliberations across 7 defined themes of geopolitics, economics, investment, trade, technology, sustainability and healthcare, he added.
The flagship event of CII is being organized virtually for the first time from 15-18 December 2020, in partnership with the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The theme of the Partnership Summit this year is “Partnerships for Lives, Livelihood and Growth”.
