China To Source Indian Telecom Software
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Chinese ministry of commerce have agreed to work on issues relating to World Trade Organisation (WTO) and trade policy. The Chinese telecom industry, regarded as one of the biggest markets in the world, has also decided to source telecom software from India.
CII director general Tarun Das told FE, “We have agreed to work together on issues such as agriculture, market access, subsidies, Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) and public health and tariffs. While we have not yet gone into specifics of positions to be taken jointly, we would be doing so over a period of time.”
“We would also be sitting together at the WTO meet in Cancun in Mexico in September this year. The agreement is exclusively between CII and the ministry,” clarified Mr Das.
“Another significant outcome of today’s meetings was the in-principle decision by China’s telecom industry to source their software requirements from India. While it may be difficult to put a value to the size of such business, the potential is huge. After all, China is the biggest market in the world currently for telecom vendors,” he said.
When asked which Indian companies could be the biggest beneficiaries from such orders, Mr Das said, “While the field is open to all players, Mahindra- British Telecom is one of the leading companies and should gain immensely.” CII also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in the presence of minister of commerce and industry Arun Jaitley to push forward a five-point agenda to work towards the achievement of the mutual trade target of $10 billion (Rs 48,000 crore). These initiatives include the announcement of a $500 million (Rs 2,400 crore) India investment fund and an agreement for issuance of 6-month multiple entry business visas.
“CCPIT and CII have agreed to collaborate for the ‘Made in India’ show to be held in Beijing in October this year. A film festival and a food festival will also be a part of the show now. We would also be holding a series of bilateral conferences on areas such as information technology, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, manufacturing etc,” said Mr Das.
To accentuate cross-border business ties, an India-China CEOs forum is being set up to deliberate on key issues and opportunities, and facilitate further trade and partnership between the two countries.
New
Delhi
June 24
Top
|
