President's Statement to the Business Meeting Hosted by Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (Comce) and India-mexico Business Council (Imbc)

Senor Valentin D�ez Morodo, President of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology,

Senor Jose Luis Uriegas, President of the India-Mexico Business Chamber,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be in your midst today. Economic and commercial relations between India and Mexico provide an important underpinning to our bilateral relations. I am happy that in recent years bilateral trade has grown steadily. It crossed US$2 billion last year. But this is just the beginning. We need to do much more.

Businesspersons and entrepreneurs of the two countries need to explore ways to fully exploit the real potential. There is general agreement on both sides that there are extensive synergies in our economies. Both of us enjoy near and offshore advantages to the larger markets of North America and Asia. While Mexico has an extended market into NAFTA and Latin America, India is a huge market in itself, not to speak of the extension to South and South East Asia and Africa. There are areas where Indian technology has proved its competence, such as IT, pharmaceuticals and non-conventional Energy. Mexican competence is visible in fields like food processing, energy, high yield crops and housing. It is for businesses on both sides to identify and exploit new complementarities to mutual benefit. I am glad that an MoU has been signed between COMSE and CII.

I am happy to note that Indian companies such as Mittal Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Ranbaxy, Reddy Labs and Solara have invested in Mexico. Other companies are looking for opportunities and possibilities of investment. Being a developing country, India recognizes the importance of the social dimension of foreign investment. I am happy to have learnt that Indian investments are being welcomed from this perspective in Mexico. For economic interaction between the two countries to be sustainable, it is important that its benefits percolate to the people and transform their lives for the better. I am confident that Indian and Mexican businesses will meet these expectations.

Likewise, I encourage Mexican investors to explore the Indian market. It offers an attractive combination of demand, availability of high quality management and technical manpower as well as cheap unskilled labour, transparent legal system, a huge capacity to profitably and productively absorb capital.

We have a long journey ahead of us. Governments can only play a coordinating role and help create a conducive political and economic environment. But you are the actual players on the field. The Governments have already declared their intention by elevating the bilateral ties to a 'Privileged Partnership'. They have also set the target for trade at US $ 5 billion by the year 2010. A Bilateral Investment & Protection Agreement and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement are already in place. An Air Services Agreement has been signed providing the framework for connectivity through air services, both in passenger and cargo segments. The institutional infrastructure is thus in place.

Similarly, the Governments have liberalized visa regimes considerably, especially for business travel.

The Business Council can also exchange views on any remaining irritants in economic cooperation and bring those to the knowledge of the Governments. The India-Mexico High Level Group on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation is scheduled to meet again in June this year. Your suggestions and recommendations will be valuable inputs into that Group's efforts to define the course of future economic engagement between our two countries.

I thank the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology and India-Mexico Business Chamber for organizing this event and for extending an invitation to me. It is always rewarding to interact with key business players.

I congratulate all the participants, both from India and Mexico, and wish them success in their every endeavours.

The MoU signed between COMCE and CII for enhancing trade and business relationship and investment will help in providing regular mechanisms for business interactions.

I am confident that the MoU will lead to a significant growth in commercial activities between the two countries.

Muchas Gracias.

(Thank You.)