Second India-Eu Business Summit
November 22-23, 2001, New Delhi

Address by Mr Chirayu R Amin, President, FICCI

H E Mr Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium & President of the European Union
H E Mr Romano Prodi, President, European Commission
Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India
Mr Murasoli Maran, Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry, India
Mr Sanjiv Goenka, President, CII
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is truly a historic event and on behalf of the entire Indian Industry it is my privilege to warmly welcome India’s Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee. We are delighted to welcome our esteemed guests the Hon’ble President of the European Union and Prime Minister of Belgium Mr Guy Verhofstadt and the President of the European Commission Mr Romano Prodi. With a poet, a lawyer and a scholar together, we would not have asked for a more distinguished high table and your presence sirs, is a source of great inspiration.

The “Lisbon Spirit”; is a product of the visionary initiative taken by Shri Vajpayee and Mr Prodi. The Lisbon Summit held last year laid a strong foundation for carrying forward our cooperation beyond bilateral economic issues to address the global challenge of disease, hunger, poverty, peace, stability and prosperity of the entire mankind.

And the result as we all see today is that India and EU are now crafting a genuine partnership that takes a longer view of not only the potentials and interests of India and EU but of the entire global community.

Robert Schuman once said “the contribution which an organised and living Europe can bring to the civilisation is indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations”. May I add that the Indo-EU partnership would contribute significantly to realising Schuman’s vision.

Our bilateral agenda is equally exciting. The EU, as one of our largest trading partners and source of foreign direct investment, capital and technology, can be a key partner in our endeavour to enhance India’s presence in the world economy.

The EU has strengths in many areas ranging from agro business, infrastructure, engineering and manufacturing capabilities, knowledge and service sectors to education and cutting edge technologies. We look forward to partnering with your strengths to improve our economy and the quality of life of our people.

I also draw your attention to the “ultimate resource”, Human capital. As the digital revolution unfolds it is knowledge that will drive industries, services and even farm production and food processing. It is here that the rich educational and scientific capabilities of India’s human capital offer opportunities for collaboration. More liberalisation in this area is required especially in the movement of knowledge workers.

Local enterprises, particularly the small & medium units in the developing countries are often unable to cope with the pressures of globalisation. It will be important to develop programmes that will smoothen the process of transition in a period of rapid trade liberalization. Both India and EU have a rich experience in nurturing small and medium enterprises and a regular interface between EU and India on the SME front can yield immense benefits in the form of greater employment and spread of economic benefits.

Sir, the dimensions that we can look at are truly large and the agenda that confronts is vast and challenging. As we lay this foundation for a varied and exciting partnership I have no doubt that its future trajectory will invigorate not just our two societies but the world as a whole.

Thank you.