External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday said India’s trade and economic ties with Central Asia over the last decade have actually shown a very strong positive trend.
Addressing the India-Central Asia Business Council here, Jaishankar said the presence of Indian and Central Asian business participants in such significant numbers today is a sure indicator of mutual interest in forging stronger B2B ties between India and Central Asian nations. “It is also a statement of the importance that business communities in all our countries attach to this Business Council. Today’s meeting seeks to discuss and explore new opportunities and complementarities between our respective economies,” he added.
Referring to the size of the Indian economy and its strong growth over the past years, he told Central Asian leaders that India will create new demands for products and services that they can tap into. “We have more competition, and in a way we are looking for new opportunities, and I would like our friends from Central Asian economies to appreciate that an economy today which is bigger, which is in excess of USD4 trillion which is growing at 6-8 per cent annually, it will create new demands for products, for services, and you know, even I would say in a way new demands out of more prosperous lifestyles,” he said.