Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday urged the captains of industry from India and Africa to drive business and highlighted infrastructure, energy, agriculture, human resource development and healthcare as the key areas of collaboration.
“The private sector should take the lead in promoting investment between India and Africa and assured that the Governments and member African countries would facilitate the private sector by providing them with a conducive regulatory environment,” she said at the fourth India-Africa Trade Ministers' Meeting held on Friday, organised by Ministry of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with industry chamber FICCI.
Sitharaman added that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Africa has been growing phenomenally and with enhanced joint ventures and partnerships the FDI is bound to reach the next level.
Speaking on the issue of World Trade Organization (WTO), Sitharaman also said that for the first time WTO meeting would be held in Nairobi in December. “India and Africa were aligned on the issues and both were in favour of multilateral trading system,” she added.
However, DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant further said that 37 CEOs from Africa and 28 CEOs from India participated in the meeting and shared their common aspirations of engaging in business in India and Africa.