|
*
Note: Imports figures for 200-2001 onwards do not
include import of Petroleum Products (27100093) and
Curde Oil (27090000)
Source: Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry
of Commerce & Industry,Government
of India.
First GCC-India Industrial Conference in
Mumbai (Feb 17-18, 2004):
The first GCC-India Industrial
Conference comprising ministerial and business
delegations from the six member states of the
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf –
UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait –
and India was held in Mumbai on February 17-18, 2004.
The Conference was co-chaired from Indian side by Mr.
Arun Jaitley, Minister of Commerce and Industry and from
GCC side by Mr. Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Taweel,
Minister of Trade and Industry of Kuwait and Mr.
Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, GCC Secretary General.
The prominent GCC Ministers who attended the conference
were Mr. Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, Minister of
Finance & Industry, UAE, Mr. Ali Saleh Al-Saleh,
Minister of Commerce, Bahrain, Mr. Hashim bin Abdullah
Al Yamani, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Saudi
Arabia, Mr Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, Minister of
Commerce and Industry, Oman and Mr. Abdullah Hamad Al-Attiyah,
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy &
Industry, Qatar. The Conference was widely attended by
senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, captains
of industry and investment houses. Among the GCC
countries, Saudi Arabia provided the largest contingent
numbering over 50 delegates to the Conference.
The GCC India Industrial
Conference was historic, marking the first ever
structured gathering and composite dialogue forum
involving GCC and India on such a magnitude. The mega
event symbolized the political will on all sides to
complement and reinforce the strong India-GCC bilateral
relations and to further promote engagement with the GCC
as a group. The Conference under the theme
‘Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st Century’
focused on four select priority areas covering GCC
and India – (i) trade, (ii) investments, (iii)
industrial cooperation including Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs)/Small Scale Industries (SSI) and (iv)
transfer of technology including Information
Technology.
Important bilateral agreements/MOUs
were concluded between CII and the Federation of GCC
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FGCCC), as well as
between Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) and FGCCC. It was decided that the GCC-India
Business Conference will be convened regularly on a
biennial basis and the second GCC -India Business
Conference will be held in Sultanate of Oman.
The GCC India
Industrial Conference at Mumbai endorsed the GCC-India
Framework Agreement for Economic Cooperation and
expressed the intention of the two sides to explore the
possibility for setting up GCC-India Free Trade
Agreement/Area. Subsequently, India and GCC have signed
a Framework Agreement for enhancing and developing the
economic cooperation between them on the basis of
equality and mutual interest. The GCC-India agreement
was signed at New Delhi on August 25, 2004 by Dr.
Muhammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Kuwait and Mr. Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah
Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the
Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) with Mr. Kamal Nath,
Minister of Commerce and Industry of India. Mr. Kamal
Nath said that the Agreement would act as a catalyst in
India's efforts to achieve closer commercial economic
and political relationship with the GCC States and would
provide a frame work for private sector on both sides to
enter into profitable ventures in new areas. The first
official-level meeting under the Framework Agreement was
held on 19 November 2004 between the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry from Indian side and a GCC
delegation led by Dr. Yousuf Al Sadoun, GCC's
Coordinator General for Negotiations at New Delhi,
India.
Second GCC-India
Business Conference: Muscat Declaration
The GCC-India
Second Business Conference was convened at
Muscat-Sultanate of Oman during the period 25-26th
of March 2006, hosted by the Government of the Sultanate
of Oman, under the motto “GCC and India-Cooperation and
Partnership”.
The Conference
was chaired by H.E. Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Minister of
Commerce and Industry, Sultanate of Oman and attended by
H.E. Abdurrahaman bin Hamad Al Atteya, Secretary General
of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and their Excellencies
the Ministers of Industry from both the Republic of
India and the GCC countries: H.E. Mr. Kamal Nath,
Minister of Commerce and Industry – Republic of India;
H.E. Dr. Mohamed Khalfan Kharbash, Minister of Sate for
Finance and Industry Affairs – United Arab Emirates, H.E.
Dr. Hassan Abdulla Fakhro, Minister of Industry and
Commerce – The Kingdom of Bahrain; H.E. Dr. Hashim
Abdullah Al Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry –
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; H.E. Mr. Abdullah bib Hamad Al
Ateyya, The second Deputy Prime Minister of Energy and
Industry – State of Qatar; and H.E. Dr. Yousif Sayed
Hassan Al-Zalzalah, Minister of Commerce and Industry –
State of Kuwait.
Muscat Declaration
The Muscat
Declaration was issued on 26th March 2006
reiterated the drive of the common will of the GCC
countries and India to establish strategic economic
cooperation between them, based on principles of
equality and aimed at achieving common interests as
represented by their historical ties, their membership
of WTO and their extensive market in affirmation of the
rules and principles founded by the First GCC/India
Industrial Conference held between the two sides in
Mumbai-India in February 2004. The declaration also
stressed for setting practical programs for translating
the First GCC-India Industrial Conference’s
recommendations into reality.
The Muscat Conference recommended for activating
the partnership between the two sides through the
formation of joint ventures and private investment
companies in the fields of industry, energy,
petrochemicals, ICT, bio-technology and tourism sector,
identifying industries nominated for strategic
partnership between the two sides, working towards
eliminating all obstacles that hinder the flow of
investment and trade between the two sides, enforcing
the GCC-India Framework Agreement for Economic
Cooperation, and expediting the finalization of the Free
Trade Area (FTA) Agreement between the two sides, which
includes other economical sectors, maintaining regular
contacts between the private sectors of the two sides,
Benefiting from the experiences of the two sides in
promoting the Small and Medium Enterprises, exchanging
experiences in the fields of Research and Development,
and higher education, between Universities and
Scientific Research Institutes; and establishing joint
Centers for science and technology, exchange of
experiences in the fields of biotechnology, health and
pharmaceutical. It was agreed to hold the third
conference of GCC businessmen and their Indian
counterparts in India during March 2007. |
