General Assembly General Assembly

Eighth India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Political Dialogue on the sidelines of 69th UNGA Session

[26 September 2014, New York]

Opening Remarks by Mrs. Sushma Swaraj,  External Affairs Minister

 

Excellencies, Members of the GCC delegation, colleagues,

 

India and the GCC met for the first India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) political Dialogue on the sidelines of the UNGA on September 26, 2003. I am extremely happy that we are meeting again for the 8th India-GCC political dialogue to discuss matters of mutual interest. At the very outset, I would like to reiterate to Your Excellencies that the Indian leadership accords very high importance to our relations with the GCC countries and to this dialogue.

 

We consider the GCC member countries as a part of our extended neighborhood. India’s cultural links with each of your country go back to the early years of recorded history and have continued well into the modern era. The GCC is India’s largest trading partner group with a trade of US$ 171 billion in the year 2013-14. About 50% of our oil & gas needs are sourced from the GCC countries. The GCC’s contribution to our energy security is thus a vital ingredient to sustain our planned GDP growth.

 

Your countries host about 7 million Indians who not only contribute to their host GCC economies but also support many families back home. Last but not the least in importance, we consider the GCC to be a very important potential source for investments into India. The surplus capital from GCC can be integrated with the skilled Indian manpower to develop investment proposals in mutually beneficial programs and projects not only in India and in the GCC countries but also in third countries. Peace and stability in your region is, therefore, of utmost importance to India. 

 

Our Prime Minister, in his Independence Day speech, has spelt out his government’s utmost priority of making India an investment and manufacturing destination.  He is launching/has launched ‘Make in India’ campaign on 25 September inviting foreign entrepreneurs to come and set up manufacturing bases in India.  This will make India an important partner in the global value chain. 

 

The ‘Make in India’ programme lays emphasis on 25 manufacturing sectors with focus on job creation and skill enhancement. These sectors include automobiles, auto components, design manufacturing, renewable energy, mining, textiles, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals, electronics and ports.

 

As part of the plan, foreign investment caps in construction will be eased to enable greater participation in the government’s 100 smart cities project and affordable housing. The FDI caps in railways and defence production have already been eased to 100% and 49%, respectively. The objective is also to ensure solid growth and employment creation. Small and Medium sectors would also be central to the plan of absorbing job aspirants and reviving the manufacturing sector.

 

We are also focusing on investment in infrastructure with ambitious targets and have put in place mechanisms to overcome implementation bottlenecks. Our policies are transparent, stable and designed to provide a level playing field to both domestic and foreign investors. An ambitious US$90 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project is aimed at creating mega industrial manufacture corridor along the Delhi-Mumbai Rail Freight Corridor. 

 

There are opportunities available in other industrial corridors, including Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, East Coast Industrial Corridor (including Chennai-Vizag Industrial Corridor), Amritsar Kolkota Industrial Corridor and North East Myanmar Industrial Corridor. It is in this context and keeping in view the vast surplus capital resources available with your countries that we would like to seek enhanced cooperation with the GCC in the form of higher flow of investments into big ticket Indian projects.

 

Energy is a key sector in our bilateral cooperation. Oil and Natural Gas account for a large share of India-GCC trade, which increased from USD 116 billion in 2010-11 to US$ 171billion in 2013-14. We would like to transform our buyer-seller relationship into a substantial, enduring and mutually beneficial partnership by encouraging investments in each other’s energy sectors. Over the years, Indian companies have developed their own skill sets and can participate in exploration and development projects in the Gulf while the GCC companies could invest capital in India’s mid-stream oil sector projects as also the petro-chemical sector. Renewable energy, including solar and wind energy, is another potential area for cooperation.

 

Excellencies, we already have the India-GCC Framework Agreement signed in 2004 which has been ratified by all GCC member states in 2011. The various provisions in this agreement provide excellent opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between us. I hope we will able to take expeditious action to operationalize this important agreement.

 

Two rounds of the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations have been held in 2006 and 2008 and the third round is pending. We feel that early finalization of India-GCC FTA will boost business and economic cooperation between the two sides.

 

I have been informed that the 4th India-GCC Industrial Conference (IGIC) is being planned for 2015-16 in Jeddah. Once dates are finalised, our Ministry of Commerce and the Confederation of Indian Industry would prepare earnestly for this conference which we must utilise to further boost our existing bilateral commercial relations.

 

Excellencies, in conclusion I would like to state that we firmly believe that there is need as well as scope for the India-GCC political Dialogue to be made more substantial and to set up a mechanism to be able to follow up on the issues/proposals agreed upon. The role of the GCC Secretariat in this regard is crucial.

 

May I also thank your Excellencies for the opportunity to interact with you once again.

 

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