Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, will be inaugurating the India-ASEAN Business Fair & Business Conclave 2011, here tomorrow. The Trade & Industry Ministers from the 10 ASEAN Countries viz., Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will also deliver special address on the occasion. The 5-day Fair (2-3 March, 2011) is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which is first of its kind, will bring together Business leaders and Practitioners for knowledge sharing and business development across industry segments from India and 10 ASEAN Countries.

On 2nd and 3rd March, Business Sessions will be held on the following themes: “India-ASEAN Partnership in the 21st Century: From Vision to Action”; “India-ASEAN Economic Synergies: Economic & Strategic Engagement”; “SMEs and Micro Enterprises – The Growth Engines for ASEAN & India”; “Investment Opportunities in India – across States”.

The focus sectors of display and interest of businesses during the India-ASEAN Business Fair & Conclave are Banking, Tourism, Automotive, Construction, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics, Chemicals, Light Engineering, Electrical Equipments, Aluminium & Stainless Steel, Training, Health Products, Infrastructure, Transportation Logistic Services, Shipbuilding & Repairs, Jewellery, Garments, Consultancy Services, Pharmaceuticals, IT & IT enabled Services, Chemicals, Architect Services, Auto parts, personal care products, Construction & Mining, Agri & Food processing and many more.

Over 500 Businesses from India & ASEAN countries would be participating in India-ASEAN Business Fair & Business Conclave. Indian Majors like Tata Motors, BHEL, IRCON, APTECH, WAPCOS, etc are also showcasing their product lines. The main sectors of Cooperation between India & ASEAN are: Agriculture & Food Processing, Infrastructure, Tourism, Automotive, Education, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, IT, amongst others.

Earlier, Shri Sumanta Choudhuri, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, said that India-ASEAN trade will be reaching US $ 70 billion in the next three years and further informed that the India-ASEAN trade during the calendar year 2009 were – exports $ 17.3 billion and imports $ 23.8 billion – and during 2010 – exports $ 22.3 billion and imports $ 27.8 billion. He said that this event will showcase India’s soft power by involvement of Indian Council Cultural Research is an indication in that direction.

India ASEAN economic partnership advances through a business fair and conclave promoting trade, sector cooperation and investment opportunities. The India ASEAN Business Fair & Business Conclave 2011 is a five day event jointly organised by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and FICCI to promote India ASEAN economic engagement, convening Trade and Industry Ministers from ten ASEAN countries and over 500 businesses to facilitate knowledge sharing, sectoral exhibits across industries such as banking, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and IT, and business sessions on partnership implementation, economic synergies, SME growth, and investment opportunities across Indian states.