Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Anand Sharma expressed hope that the ongoing ?India Show? will be a unique opportunity for the African businesses to deepen and strengthen existing ties and forge new linkages with Indian companies.
Sharma inaugurated India Show at Millennium Hall, Addis Ababa on Friday. The theme of the show is ?Africa & India: Partners in Progress ? Friends Forever?.
Sharma is leading the Indian delegation as part of the build-up to the 2nd ?Africa-India Forum Summit? scheduled on 24-25 May.
He also released a special publication entitled ?India-Africa Business Guide? during the Inaugural session of the India Show.
Speaking on this occasion, Sharma said, ?India has become one of the leading investors in African countries, with Indian investments in Africa in Joint Ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries touching US $ 33 billion mark, covering diverse sectors like Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Petrochemicals, IT, Fertilizers, Infrastructure, etc?.
The large presence of Indian businesses at the Trade Exhibition would help African companies get a firsthand account of the business opportunities in India and interact with potential partners.
The India Show inauguration was attended by Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, Commission of the African Union and Bhagwant S. Bishnoi, Ambasssador of India to Ethiopia .
The Inaugural session was addressed by Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson, Commission of the African Union; Abdurahman Sheik Mohamed, Minister of Trade, Republic of Ethiopia and Mekonen Manyazwal, Minister of Industry, Republic of Ethiopia.
In his Inaugural address, Sharma noted that, ?The economic partnership between India and Africa has taken giant leaps forward ever since the first India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008, with Bilateral Trade between India and Africa, which was at a meager US $ 3 billion at the turn of the century, crossing the US $ 46 billion mark last year.?
He further mentioned that we are well on our way to achieve bilateral trade target of US $ 70 billion by 2015.
The Commerce Minister reiterated that India will continue with its efforts to expand trade with the African countries through a special focus, including steps like the ?Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme? for certain countries in Africa to enable easier imports from them.