The summit has welcomed the participation of officials and policy makers from India and ASEAN member nations, representatives of international organizations and enterprises from the two sides.
It aims to further foster trade and investment collaboration between India and ASEAN, and offer an opportunity for the two sides’ enterprises to enhance partnerships, expand markets and sign cooperation agreements, thus contributing to removing trade barriers.
During working sessions within the framework of the summit, participants have focused their discussions on the fields of IT, e-commerce and fintech, infrastructure, health and pharmaceuticals, education and skills development, culture and tourism, and agriculture and food processing.
In his opening speech, Ajay Poddar, Chairman of the International Affairs Committee for ASEAN, East Asia & Oceania under PHDCCI, said ASEAN plays a vital role in India’s foreign policy, and the ASEAN-India cooperation is extremely important in the context of the global economic depression.
According to Ajay, the connection of the two economies will create a market of nearly 2 billion people with a total GDP of over USD 5 trillion.
Meanwhile, Thai Ambassador to India Chutintorn Gongsakdi said he is optimistic about prospects for economic growth in India and ASEAN, saying that the two regions are among the most dynamic economies in the world.
He said the two sides need to change business methods, enhance transport infrastructure connection, and apply digital technologies, thus expanding their cooperation.
ASEAN has become one of the biggest trade partners of India. Two-way trade increased remarkably to nearly USD 81 billion in 2017-2018 from USD 45.34 billion in 2008-2009. The two sides aim to lift trade to USD 200 billion by 2022.
Source: VNA