Kamal Nath to lead India to Muscat conference

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will lead a high-powered delegation to Muscat for the second GCC-India Industrial Conference on March 25 and 26 to exchange ideas and information on energy and possibility of encouraging joint ventures between the two partners.

The meeting would specifically focus on tourism, industry and commerce, Mr Hilal Bin Hammed Al Hasani, Director General of Industries, Sultanate of Oman, announced at a joint press conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Commerce and Industry of Oman here today.

He said the new areas of cooperation between the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members and India in this era of globalisation could be R and D and biotechnology where the two sides could benefit from mutual partnership.

The six GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The GCC countries, Mr Hasni said, had a trade of 19 billion US Dollars with India in 2005.

''There are already many Indian companies that are having joint ventures with us. Once the FTA comes through between the two sides, it would be a big step in promoting trade between the two partners,'' he added.

Mr MVPC Sastry, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said India and the GCC would have an FTA meeting in Riyadh on March 21 and 22.

''It would enlarge our relationship and investment and ensure that economic relations become stronger and deeper.'' He said the First Business Conference between India and the GCC, organised by the CII in Mumbai in 2004 was a success and expressed the hope that the second meeting would go a step forward in strengthening economic ties between the two sides.

Welcoming the speakers, Mr MA Pathan, CII Gulf Council and Resident Director, Tata Services Limited, said the GCC was the second largest trade partner of India after USA.

In view of the economic and political importance of India in the region it was selected as a dialogue partner in addition to the US, the EU and China by the GCC.

He said India and Oman, which was the host country for the conference, enjoyed cordial relations and had celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2005.

Mr A C Patankar, Principal Adviser, CII, in his concluding remarks said many IT companies such as WIPRO, Satyam, TCS, NIIT and Infosys had already set up regional offices in some of these countries and the GCC was going to be the hub of development in the future.

UNI YJ ARB PC1858