India eyes stronger business ties with ASEAN, at par with political relations: Ram Nath Kovind

New Delhi: India has deep political and people-to-people relations with each and every country in the ASEAN and wish to bring economic and business relations up to the same level, suggested President Ram Nath Kovind.

Kovind - during his ongoing state visit to Philippines - noted that ASEAN-India trade has jumped significantly in the past few years. However, he said, the two sides still have a long distance to cover to reach the target of US$ 200 billion by 2022.

Effective use of existing mechanisms, particularly the ASEAN-India Business Council can go a long way in realizing this goal. He said that just as Indian companies see significant opportunities in the region, he was confident the ASEAN business community also recognises the tremendous business potential in India. He said that India wishes to participate in ASEAN’s growth story and it invites all of the ASEAN to participate in its.


The President said that the Philippines-India business story is an encouraging one. “While bilateral trade has shown continuous progress, the real gain has been our collaboration in the IT-BPO segment. As we race into the digital age, we have immense opportunities before us to fill e-commerce shelves, create fin-tech services, develop imaginative entertainment platforms, and power green and clean solutions.”

The President said that in recent years, India-Philippines have seen two-way investment grow in infrastructure and energy sectors. More prospects wait to be converted into concrete projects, from airport terminals, LNG pipelines to waste management solutions. The Indian pharma and healthcare sectors offer immense value to the Philippines. There is scope to enhance partnership in several other areas - from trade, investment, services, agriculture, engineering to new technologies, he suggested.