Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong urged Indian businesses to seize opportunities to further deepen partnerships with Singapore as well as ASEAN companies.
By Lee Kah Whye Last week, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, was in New Delhi and spoke at the 28th Annual Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit where he encouraged Indian businesses to increase their investments and trade with Southeast Asia.
The summit titled “Partnerships for Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable, and Equitable Businesses”, was held at the Taj Palace, New Delhi, March 13-15, and chaired by Union minister Piyush Goyal. It was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Department for Promotion of Internal Trade and Industry, (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Covering a wide range of subjects of global interest for governments and businesses, the 2023 edition of the summit is the largest held since 1995.
A total of 145 government officials and executives, including 65 international speakers from 24 countries spoke at the summit’s 35 sessions. Participating were almost 400 delegates representing 67 countries including Bhutan, Canada, Cuba, South Korea, Mauritius, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as President of CII Sanjiv Bajaj. Also speaking at the conference was Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, who highlighted Indonesia’s commitment to improving its collaboration with India.
Hasan said, “The CII Partnership Summit 2023 can contribute positively to the improvement of Indonesia-India relations, just like what the founding fathers of the two countries dream of. Improving international collaboration has become crucial and relevant to the theme of this summit.” He added that India is Indonesia’s strategic partner, with trade value between both nations recording a high of USD 32.7 billion in 2022 and establishing India’s position as a major trading partner of Indonesia. Indonesia is keen on collaborating with India in the areas of information technology, health, and pharmaceuticals.