Mukherjee calls upon Indian, Belarus firms to increase engagement

Prior to his return to India from Bealrus capital Minsk on Thursday, President Pranab Mukherjee called on Indian and Belarus firms to increase their engagement.

Addressing a Belarus-India Business Forum organized by the Belarus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and FICCI-CII in Minsk, Mukherjee said trade, investment and economic cooperation form one of the most important facets of contemporary India-Belarus relations.

"As we seek to elevate our bilateral relationship, it is our business communities that possess the maximum potential to transform and energize these ties," he added.

He further said that with a view to further energizing bilateral co-operation, a very substantive and focussed road map on the India-Belarus partnership had been issued.

"The road map identifies the key sectors for our future cooperation. These include conventional and small-scale power generation, new and renewable energy, metallurgy and mining, defence, automotive and agricultural engineering, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and food processing. All these sectors offer promising opportunities for investment. This is not an exhaustive list, but an indicative one, where there are immediate and promising prospects for synergy," he said.

He also informed that India would be extending a new line of credit of USD 100 million to Belarus to encourage joint projects in mutually identified sectors.

Mukherjee called upon companies from India and Belarus to increase their engagement in trade fairs as well as national, international and regional exhibitions held in both countries respectively.

He said companies should also seek to participate more actively in international tenders of both governments, even as governmental agencies on both sides enhance information sharing to ensure that this is realised.