Govt. extends support to increase Indian investments in Europe

Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar on Monday assured that India is committed to extending support to Indian industries' focused efforts to increase investments in European countries.

Delivering the keynote address at the 4th India-Europe 29 Business Forum, organised by FICCI and the Ministry of External Affairs, Akbar said India is "assiduously furthering the global goal of shared prosperity."

"The radical reforms that were introduced by the Government of India four years ago under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have delivered robust results. Government programmes have contributed to the socio-economic transformation of the country, and interventions in the areas of micro-finance and housing have strengthened the participation of women in development endeavours," said Akbar.

Highlighting the threat of terrorism confronting global societies, the minister reiterated India and Europe's commitment to fight the war against terrorism and make the world a peaceful place to live in.

Meanwhile, FICCI Senior Vice President Sandip Somany in his welcome address opined that there is significant scope for increasing the India-Europe 29 bilateral trade flows that stood at USD 38 billion in 2016-17.

"Cumulative bi-directional India-E29 investments of USD 16 billion in 13 years are miniscule when viewed against the unexplored opportunities for expanding bilateral trade flows. There is a need for strengthening India-E29 partnerships involving small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," he added.

The conference was attended by nearly 170 officials and business leaders from the Europe 29 countries, along with a similar number of Indian delegates.