INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JANUARY 1st - JANUARY 15th
- 2008
INDO-GREEK BILATERAL TRADE TO DOUBLE BY 2010, SAYS COMMERCE MINISTRY
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, has stated that bilateral trade in the services sector holds great promise, as India is emerging as a global services provider especially in the information technology and software sector. While addressing at the Luncheon Meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kostas Karamanlis, here today, the Minister stated that bilateral investment flows have seen an uptrend and major Indian IT companies like Infosys, TCS already have a presence in Greece. Similarly, Greek companies such as Eurodyn, Pisani Group MJ Mailis, have invested in India, he added. The Foreign Affairs Minister of Greece, senior officials from both the sides besides a business delegation was present on the occasion.
The Minister mentioned about the agreement on Cooperation in Science & Technology signed during the visit of the President of India to Greece in April 2007 and hoped that it will provide a basis for greater engagement in innovative areas and lay the foundation for enhanced cooperation.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Greece, stated that, our bilateral trade volume keeps up a steady growth. Nevertheless, we firmly believe that it remains beneath the two countries potential and can be further developed and diversified. The target to double the volume of our bilateral trade by 2010, seems attainable and viable. He added that Greek economy is being transformed into a more dynamic, more open and more competitive economy.And as a result, FDI in Greece has reached 4.3 billion in 2006, nine times higher than in 2005. Greece is a safe market with modern infrastructure in the fields of combined transportation, telecommunications and a complete legal framework which offers incentives, such as tax or grant exemptions for attracting foreign investors. He drew the attention of the gathering and said that Greek products with good export potential to the Indian market are machinery, lubricants, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, packaging and construction materials, processed food and beverages, clothing, informatics and services.
Shri Kamal Nath observed that both governments have a crucial role to play in bringing together businesses. Our commitment is to provide a positive business environment to foster the bilateral trading relationship. The effort made by the industry associations on both sides to enhance the levels of contacts among businesses is heartening and they deserve to be congratulated for their efforts, he further stated.
The Commerce Minister stated that the current visit of the Greek Prime Minister with a strong business delegation could help both sides in building upon the strong bilateral relationship that exits. He said that during the visit of the Indian President to Greece, a commitment was made by both sides to double trade between the two countries to reach and exceed 1 billion Euros by 2010. A large potential exists and both sides have to actively undertake measures to realise this potential. Bilateral trade between the two countries has shown a robust growth during the last two years, he added.
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