NEW DELHI: As India looks to boost its share in global trade, the Middle East and Africa offer tremendous potential for growth right in the pharma, IT, services, tourism and project export sectors, senior officials and diplomats said here Tuesday. During April-July, the Middle East and North Africa region comprising 19 countries has shown a high 29 percent growth, said K.V. Eapen, director in the commerce ministry, at a seminar organized by the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) on trade with West Asia. In the 2001-02 fiscal, the Middle East and North Africa region accounted for 13 percent of India's total exports worth $5.7 billion while non-oil imports from the region were $3.1 billion. "The region is emerging as the third largest trading block after Southeast Asia and East Asia," said Eapen. Addressed by the ambassadors of Iran, Oman, Syria and the commercial counselor of Kuwait, the seminar was attended by a large number of exporters to the West Asia. On India's efforts to boost trade in the West Asia region, R.M. Abhyankar, secretary in the ministry of external affairs, said "In most of the countries in the region the role of government forums has been diminishing. It is now important that companies themselves appoint a representative in these countries to follow up on contracts and ensure reliability in delivery." Pharmaceuticals and bulk drugs and IT are some of the areas Abhayankar identified as potential areas of growth. "Pharma is one area with manifest demand in the region. Given that many Indian drugs have got the US approval, the quality is assured and on the price count too we fare well. Indian companies need to register their products under the local regulations. This could result in good returns on pharma and biotech products," said Abhayankar. He pointed out that there is much scope for Indian companies to step up project exports and enter joint ventures. IT was another sector that is not getting adequate attention, said Abhyankar. "We need to develop more Arabic software to suit market requirements." The presence of a large number of Indian companies in the Dubai Internet City was an encouraging sign, he added. Oman Ambassador Khalifa Bin Ali Al-Harthy expressed hope that the trend of joint ventures between the two countries would continue. The deadlock over the Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra which has stalled the supply of gas from Oman for the project was unfortunate, he said. "We are still keen on India as a destination for investment and trade," he said. "The discovery of gas on the Indian east coast is being looked at very keenly." Pointing to the high customs duty on agriculture products, the Oman ambassador expressed hope that it would be scaled down. Syrian Ambassador Mohsen Al-Khayer expressed happiness at the Indian assistance in setting up an IT institute in Damascus and stated that the government is encouraging more students to join institutions in India for higher studies. The envoys expressed hope that in the future as India looks to set up a free trade zone with ASEAN countries, it could one day extend to the Middle East region too. "We hope we can leverage the proposal for free trade zone for our region too," said Al-Harthy.
Source: IANS