'Take advantage of India's growth': Naidu to Zimbabwe

November 4, 2018

Harare, Nov 4: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has asked the Zimbabwean companies to take advantage of the current high growth trajectory of the Indian economy, saying the business environment in the country is changing for the better.

Addressing the India-Zimbabwe Business Forum meeting Saturday, Naidu said India and Zimbabwe have shared very cordial and warm relationship that dates back to the 17th century when they were trading in metals, minerals and textiles. However, the economic ties between the two nations have not fully reflected their immense potential.

The bilateral trade between the two nations stands at just over USD 230 million and investment at USD 500 million, which is "far below the potential".

"There are natural synergies and complementarities between the two economies and we need to tap them for our mutual benefit. Zimbabwean companies can take advantage of the current high growth trajectory of the Indian economy," Naidu said.

He said India, one of the fastest growing major economies in the world, is on course to become a 5 trillion economy by 2025. The country has recently become the 6th largest economy in the world with a GDP of USD 2.6 trillion, he added.

"Indian companies could form partnerships in Zimbabwe both for the domestic economy and for the wider Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA)," Naidu said.

The Vice President said the key areas with potential for two-way trade and investment engagement include mining, equipment manufacture, information and communication technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food processing, auto components, medical devices, defence production, infrastructure and tourism sectors.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector is key to India's economy. As Zimbabwe's economy is also largely based on SME sector, it can benefit from India's experience, he said.

Inviting Zimbabwe companies to set up their business in India, Naidu quoted the World Bank’s 'Doing Business 2019' report which said that India, which advanced to 77th place in the global ranking, is now the region's top-ranked economy.

"Starting a business was made easier through consolidation of multiple application forms and the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST)," the report stated.

"India is changing rapidly. The business environment is changing for the better. The archaic regulations are being dismantled. Seamless processes are being introduced," Naidu said.

"I hope today's Business Forum will be a major step forward to expand our economic ties and establish new ventures that will build on our strengths and answer our needs," he added.

Later in the evening, Naidu laid a wreath at the National Heroes Acre, a memorial housing the remains of those people who sacrificed their lives in Zimbabwe's struggle for independence.

Naidu is in Zimbabwe here as part of his six-day three-nation tour to Africa, aimed at deepening India’s strategic cooperation with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Comments

Bangarappa
 - 
Sunday, 4 Nov 2018

indias growth, my foot.. they are not marons like you, they may look black but there heart is pure & good, not like BJP evil heart.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Rome, Mar 19: Italy on Wednesday reported 475 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest one-day official toll of any nation since the first case was detected in China late last year.

The total number of deaths in Italy has reached 2,978, more than half of all the cases recorded outside China, while the number of infections stood at 35,713.

The previous record high of 368 deaths was also recorded in Italy, on Sunday. The nation of 60 million has now recorded 34.2 percent of all the deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 across the world.

With the death rate still climbing despite the Mediterranean country entering a second week under an effective lockdown, officials urged Italians to have faith and to stay strong.

"They main thing is, do not give up," Italian National Institute of Health chief Silvio Brusaferro said in a nationally televised press conference.

"It will take a few days before we see the benefits" of containment measures, said Brusaferro. "We must maintain these measures to see their effect, and above all to protect the most vulnerable."

Imposed nationally on March 12, the shutdown of most Italian businesses and a ban on public gatherings are due to expire on March 25.

But school closures and other measures, such as a ban fan attendance at sporting events, are due to run on until April 3.

A top government minister hinted Wednesday that the school closure would be extended well into next month, if not longer.

The rates within Italy itself remained stable, with two-thirds of the deaths -- 1,959 in all -- reported in the northern Lombardy region around Milan, the Italian financial and fashion capital.

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February 21,2020

Washington, Feb 21: Days ahead of his India visit, US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the two countries could make a "tremendous" trade deal.

"We're going to India, and we may make a tremendous deal there," Trump said in his commencement address at the Hope for Prisoners Graduation Ceremony in Las Vegas.

Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

Ahead of the visit, there have been talks about India and the United States agreeing on a trade package as a precursor to a major trade deal.

During his commencement address, Trump indicated that the talks on this might slowdown if he did not get a good deal.

"Maybe we'll slow down. We'll do it after the election. I think that could happen too. So, we'll see what happens," he said.

"But we're only making deals if they're good deals because we're putting America first. Whether people like it or not, we're putting America first," Trump said.

Bilateral India-US trade in goods and services is about three per cent of the US' world trade.

In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said the trading relationship is more consequential for India -- in 2018 the United States was its second largest goods export market (16.0 per cent share) after the European Union (EU, 17.8 per cent), and third largest goods import supplier (6.3 per cent) after China (14.6 per cent) and the EU 28 (10.2 per cent).

"The Trump Administration takes issue with the US trade deficit with India, and has criticised India for a range of 'unfair' trading practices," the CRS said.

"Indian Prime Minister Modi's first term fell short of many observers' expectations, as India did not move forward with anticipated market opening reforms, and instead increased tariffs and trade restrictions," it said.

"Modi's strong electoral mandate may embolden the Indian government to press ahead with its reform agenda with greater vigour. Slowing economic growth in India raises concerns about its business environment," CRS said.

As per a fact sheet issued by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), trade in goods and services between the two countries from 1999 to 2018 surged from $16 billion to $142 billion.

India is now the United States' eighth-largest trading partner in goods and services and is among the world's largest economies.

India's trade with the United States now resembles, in terms of volume, the US' trade with South Korea ($167 billion in 2018) or France ($129 billion), said Alyssa Ayres from CFR.

"The United States for two years now has set out in stone pretty clearly the things that they wanted to see to try to get an agreement, and it's basically then on India's doorstep on whether they want to take those steps," Rick Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank told reporters during a conference call.

"The list of US asks has been pretty static all throughout. Not to say that any of these things are easy for India to do, but the United States to my knowledge didn't change the goalposts just because we now consider India to be a middle-income country. The things that we wanted to see happen to get this trade agreement have been pretty static all throughout, no matter how difficult they are," he said in response to a question.

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March 5,2020

Bharuch, Mar 5: Vijay Kumar, a resident of the Tamil Nadu has sought help from his friend Abdulkhuda Mohd Hanif Shaikh who is residing in Gujarat to build a temple in his village.

Abdulkhuda Mohd Hanif Shaikh, who also belongs to Tamil Nadu's Paraipatti village and has been residing in Gujarat' Bharuch for a decade has collected Rs 3 lakh from his friends as a donation to build the temple in Paraipatti village in Dindigul district.

"They'd told me 4 months ago and came to me 10 days back. From Vapi to Mehsana, there are several Madrasis, even here in the village too. I personally went to them and collected around Rs 3 Lakh," Shaikh said.

Vijay Kumar said that he stayed in Gujarat for ten days and collected Rs 3 Lakh with him.

"I had sought help from him. I stayed here in Gujarat for 10 days, and went with him from people to people and collected Rs 3 Lakh. No one lives like Hindus or Muslims in our village, everyone lives like friends," he said.

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