MEA laying greater thrust on economic diplomacy

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) Aspiring for two-digit GDP growth,
India has decided to lay greater thrust on economic diplomacy
and in this regard negotiations are being expedited on Free
Trade Agreements (FTAs) with a number of countries and
regional groupings.
The government has asked its Missions abroad to
vigorously pursue the economic component of relations with
their host countries, an aspect which is seen as important for
India's ambition of pushing its own growth.
The contours of the new priority area in diplomacy were
outlined by Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna while
addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of MEA
held in Mumbai on Friday, sources said.
At the meeting which assumed added significance as it was
held at the 26/11 target Taj Hotel, Krishna said a message had
been sent out to all the 175 Indian Missions that thrust
should be laid on economic diplomacy.
Reflecting the priority of the External Affairs Ministry,
it has since last year put aside a separate budget for
economic diplomacy, which includes organising buyer-seller
meets and promoting brand India overseas, sources said.
This year Rs eight crore have been earmarked for this
purpose, they said, adding this fund was besides the budget of
the Commerce Ministry and other departments.
The MEA has also created a website indiainbusiness.nic.in
to serve as a single source of information with regard to
Indian economy and possibilities of doing business.
To pursue the goals of economic diplomacy, India is
vigorously pursuing FTAs with regional blocks like 27-nation
European Union, six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
16-nation East Asia Summit and five-nation South African
Customs Union (SACU).
Besides, FTAs are in pipeline with countries like
Australia, Japan, Australia, Russia, and Canada.
FTAs have already been signed with ASEAN (in goods),
South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.
While seeking increased foreign investments in India,
the government sees immense export potential in the IT sector,
which is estimated to jump to USD 175 billion by 2020 from
the current USD 70 billion.
The government's hopes are buoyed by the recent UNCTAD's
World Investment Prospect Survey which identified India as one
of the five top investment destinations.
"External prerequisites for sustained high economic
growth over medium to long term include more foreign
investment, and meeting our growing energy needs," Krishna
told a conference of Heads of Missions here last month. PTI
AKK