Europe beckons Indian industry
21 Nov 2019
The 29 member countries of Europe comprising Europe-29, especially the Eastern European nations, offer great scope for Indian industry to invest in, speakers at an India-Europe conclave said on Wednesday.
India and the countries of the Europe 29 region are beacons of growth in a slowing world and the Europe-29 can be the gateway for Indian products to Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, minister of commerce and industry and railways Piyush Goyal said while addressing the India-Europe 29 Business Forum.
Speaking at the India-Europe 29 Business Forum has been organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, Mariyana Nikolova, deputy prime minister for economic and demographic policy, Bulgaria invited Indian industry to invest in Bulgaria.
She said Bulgaria has a predictable and stable policy framework as well as one of the lowest tax rates in Europe at 10 per cent for corporates. She informed that the areas where India and Bulgaria can work together include pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery and agri and food processing, among others. She also highlighted Bulgaria’s strengths in both hardware and software where Indian companies could be an ideal partner.
Vojtecj Ferencz, state secretary and first deputy minister of economy, Slovak Republic highlighted that companies like TCS and Jaguar Land Rover had invested in the country, and there was a need to step up Indian investment. Some of the sectors which may be considered are automobiles and auto components, electronics and electrical equipment.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India and Europe have very strong historical and cultural connect and can capitalise on this to develop strong economic partnership. Both India and Europe have complementary strengths especially in areas such as smart cities, renewable energy, start-ups IT and ITeS stated Goyal. In addition to this, he suggested that promotion of bilateral tourism may be considered as a major area of cooperation.
The minister was of the view that the E29 region could act as a gateway for Indian products to the wider European market.
Secretary, ministry of external affairs, T S Tirumurti, in his address said that the economies of the two regions were complementary. He invited the E29 economies to boost cooperation with India. The India-Europe 29 Business Forum will act as a bridge and help close the geographical and knowledge gap between the two regions, he said.
Senior officials of ministries of commerce and industry, external affairs, CII and captains of industry were present on this occasion.