CII Communique - February, 2010

spotlight
india & the world
Forging Global Partnerships
to solve Global Challenges
The role of India in
global recovery from
the economic crisis
is being increasingly
recognized by top leaders from
all over the world and reiterated
at various high-profile events.
India can be a key partner in
addressing global challenges
relating to economic growth,
global trade, climate change,
renewable energy, food security, and development goals,
feel stakeholders who have been interacting with India
in recent times.
CII’s partnership with global leaders deepened during
the last few weeks with a number of events. The 16th
edition of CII’s signature convention, The Partnership
Summit 2010, held in Chennai on 22-24 January, drew
interested participants from 26 countries.
Mr Mohamed Nasheed, the President of Maldives, Mr
Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry,
India, and Dato’ Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of
International Trade and Industry, Malaysia, set the tone
for the discussions by pitching India as a global leader
in the next wave of industrialisation and innovation.
Ministers, business leaders, and senior government
officials focused on what emerged as the three key
themes of this Summit – centrality of emerging countries
for the future growth of global trade and investment, the
need to develop strong business ties between emerging
nations with a special focus on regional integration, and
the need for sustainable development.
Following closely, the Annual Meeting of the World
Economic Forum at Davos, a much anticipated event,
reflected tremendous interest in India as a driver of
global growth. A 100 member strong delegation from
India led by Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Road Transport
and Highways, Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce
and Industry, and Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy
Chairman of the Planning
Commission, attended
the event along with
top business leaders
and other stakeholders.
The India factor was
very much in evidence
with Indian media, Indiaspecific
sessions, and
high-profile participation
of Indian thought leaders
at key sessions. The Bollywood-themed India reception
was once again among the best-attended by senior
corporate leaders.
Apart from these annual events, CII also interacted with
many visiting Heads of State and Government keen to
do business with India. These included Sheikh Hasina,
the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib
Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr Lee
Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Olafur
Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, and Mr Horst
Kohler, President of Germany. The recurring theme in all
these interactions was the commitment of both sides to
expand trade and investment relations. Global leaders
are desirous of leveraging India’s advantages such as
growing markets, expanding knowledge competencies,
and many infrastructure and manufacturing opportunities.
Technology partnerships and cooperation in emerging
sectors are also high on the agenda.
With global recovery well under way, Indian industry is
keenly exploring opportunities outside India’s shores,
and actively proceeding on the globalisation path. CII’s
many activities and events are the vehicles for such
engagement. The pace of activity continued during the
first weeks of the new year, as mission focussing on
SME and Solar Energy, among other sectors such as
traveled overseas, while a number of business visitors
from different parts of the world interacted with CII
members at various fora across the country.
Communiqué February 2010 | 17