India to Surpass U.S. Economy by Mid-21st Century: Vietnam Expert

NEW DELHI: India was the "honour" of the BRICS group of nations and its economy will exceed that of the U.S. by the middle of this century, a Vietnamese expert said.

"India is the honour of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries and one of the growth engines of global economy. India is expected to bring change in strategic balance of power in the near future," said Nguyen Xuan Thang, president of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

Though India's GDP was not the biggest among the BRICS countries, by the middle of this century, the Indian economy will exceed the U.S. economy," Thang said at a talk "New political situation and economic order in Asia" organised at the India Habitat Centre here.

He hoped that the new government will promote investment from India to Vietnam.

"India has important voice, position in international affairs. I believe cooperation between India and Vietnam will be effective and create a bright spot in the future," he said.

The talk was organised by the ASEAN Secretariat in cooperation with the external affairs ministry and RIS (Research and Information System for Developing Countries).

Thang said the world today was not "unipolar.

"After the end of the Cold War, the world seemed to be unipolar. But with the emergence of China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa, the world order is changing," he said.

"May be it is a G2 world," Thang added, alluding to the U.S. and China as two power centres.

Stressing that China and the U.S. were the two countries that lead the development of the world, Thang said "institutions" and a "stable environment" play key roles in bringing about economic development.

"Institutions play an important role in development. No country can develop by staying outside the world. Countries which don't have appropriate institutions have been excluded from the development chain," he said.

He said economy cannot develop smoothly in an unstable environment.

"Investors look at not just profit but stability of environment and market. If we don't ensure stability, we cannot win confidence of investors," Thang added.

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