-4th India – CLMV Business Conclave begins in Jaipur, Rajasthan
Jaipur: Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (IC) for Commerce and Industry, said that Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi’s ‘Act East’ policy seeks to revive age-old ties with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), developed since the Chola and Pandyan dynasties so that the two sides could work to strengthen each other’s. The Minister was speaking at 4th India-CLMV Business Conclave, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in cooperation with the Department of Commerce, Government of India in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The Minister invited both Governments and business communities of the least-developed ASEAN nations collectively known as CLMV to actively partner in India’s ‘Make in India’ program. She pledged that India would participate with the CLMV countries in the region’s manufacturing growth. Ms Sitharaman expressed hope that India and the CLMV countries could deepen each other’s manufacturing capabilities, learn from each other’s experiences and create a stronger regional platform for trade and commerce. She stated that the themes for deliberations at the Conclave have been carefully selected to further the India-CLMV economic and business engagements. Ms Sitharaman noted that India’s trade with the CLMV countries has grown ten times from $1.5 billion to more than $10 billion in the last 10 years and expressed hope that India would be able to partner with the region in more trade initiatives to develop a strong India-CLMV vertical within the ASEAN market. Ms Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, who delivered a special address at the Conclave, said that she welcomed investments from the CLMV countries with “open arms” and pointed to the shared “history, culture and even food”.The Chief Minister emphasised upon gems and jewellery, tourism, amongst others, as areas where Rajasthan and the participating countries would find immense and immediate synergies.
