By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Poland should target raising the bilateral trade from $1 billion to $5 billion in the next five years, an Indian industry lobby report said Thursday.
The report, brought by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was released on the eve of President Pratibha Patil’s visit to Poland Friday – the first by an Indian head of the state to the European country in the last 13 years. President Patil is accompanied by a delegation from the CII.
The bilateral trade has been on the ascendant, with volume being close to $1 billion in September 2008. This period recorded 50 percent growth in exports from India to Poland compared to 2007.
The Indian companies operating in Poland include ArcelorMittal Steel Poland SA, Videocon and Escorts.
Torunskie Zaklady Materialow Opatrunkowych (TZMO), Can-Pack Poland and Geofizyka are the major Polish companies operating in India.
The CII has identified IT, pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology as sectors for future collaboration.
“Both sides have several natural synergies – human talent, mineral resources, engineering and manufacturing expertise, large domestic markets and access to regional markets and supply chains,” said the report.
The key focus should be on promoting business connectivity across all levels of enterprises, particularly in the small and medium enterprises, it added.
It has also identified unconventional sectors like environment, climate change and renewable energy for enhanced bilateral cooperation.
“India and Poland should target a trade turnover of $5 billion in the next five years,” the CII said.
The industry lobby has also recommended setting up institutional mechanisms that should include platforms for trade and investment promotion, information facilitation and collaborations in science and technology.
“Further, India and the EU (European Union) are in the process of negotiating on a free trade agreement. Just as Poland’s accession to the EU revitalised its economy, the proposed India-EU trade pact can have high positive impact on bilateral trade,” it added.