EU-India summit to offer ‘unprecedented’ roundtable to business

Date: 04/11/04

THE Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, will meet European CEOs to discuss his country's business relationship with Europe at the EU-India summit on 8 November.

Around 12 CEOs from big businesses, including Dutch bank Rabobank, French telecom firm Alcatel and Anglo-Dutch shipping firm PNO Nedloyd, will tackle the most pressing issues with the New Delhi's chief of government.

The Dutch Confederation of Industries, which has organized the meeting, says that this unprecedented roundtable is the result of the Dutch practical approach.

"Some countries prefer to engage in protocol-type meetings and they can work too, but this is better for us," Winand Quaedvlieg, the confederation's international secretary, said. Amar Sinha, in charge of political affairs at the Indian embassy to the EU, welcomed the approach. "The aim is to upgrade dialogue and tackle a broader range of issues," he said.

Quaedvlieg said discussions would include India's business climate, which has become more attractive in the last few years as a result of administrative reform.

"We are looking at a second wave of reform after the 1990s," he said. "It's going to be even more important because India is starting to realize how huge China's impact is going to be and it has to react."

Talks will also focus on India as a growing source of direct foreign investment (FDI) in the EU. The EU is India's largest trading partner and the biggest source of FDI into India.

Industry chiefs will look at EU companies' outsourcing to India, considering the sectors most likely to be affected and what policies could be adopted. They will consider innovation and 'knowledge workers': Indian workers recruited in the EU because of their specific knowledge of a subject or area.

The summit was originally planned for 13 October but India postponed it, citing domestic problems.

Preview of the annual EU-India Summit on 8 November 2004 in The Hague, where Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also met European Chief Executive Officers to discuss his country's business relationship with Europe.