Third Session of the India - Namibia Joint Trade Committee (JTC)

Third Session of the India-Namibia Joint Trade Committee (JTC)

The Third Session of the India-Namibia Joint Trade Committee was held in New Delhi, 07th September, 2016. The Indian delegation was led by Hon’ble Minister for State for Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge) Ms Nirmala Sitharaman. The Namibian delegation was led by the Hon’ble Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Mr Piet Van der Walt.



During the meeting the close and cordial relations enjoyed by both the countries were highlighted. It was also recalled that during the visit of the President of India to Namibia in June 2016, the Indian and Namibian sides agreed inter-alia to convene the next meeting of the Joint Trade Commitee at an early date. The Hon’ble Deputy Minister from Namibia stated that JTC is an ideal frame work for trade and economic expansion between the two countries and expressed a strong desire to further deepen the trade relations.

On the issue of Bilateral trade, it was shared that during 2015, India was the seventh largest country from whom Namibia sourced its imports . JTC further noted that five rounds of India-Southern Africa Customs Union(SACU)Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) negotiations have been held so far. The fifth round of negotiations was held in New Delhi in October 2010. Conclusion of the PTA would create opportunities for increased trade flows.

Indian side conveyed to the Namibian side that leather, Gems and Jewellery, food processing products and engineering goods like electrical and mechanical appliances are sectors that India can cooperate with Namibia to meet Namibia’s requirements. Metals and mineral from Namibia was sought for the Indian requirement.

The Namibian side encouraged Joint Ventures in Mining and Mineral exploration with Epangelo Mining and Exploration company, trade of precious and semi precious Gems and Stones was discussed.. Namibia expressed interest in development of skills through training in the fields of Gems and jewellery to encourage local value addition and employment opportunity in Namibia. Namibia also expressed willingness to utilise $100 million of line of Credit for them.

Water management related infrastructure development was also discussed in the meeting. India offered to share its experience with Namibia and assured the Namibian side of its fullest cooperation in this field.

Co-operation between both the countries in hydro-electric projects and solar projects and water resource management were important items in the agenda. Co-operation in development of Micro, small and medium enterprises also found a prominent place in the discussions held. The Indian side also communicated the willingness of the National Industries corporation Limited to set up one vocational training centre –cum-incubation centre in Namibia on mutually agreed terms and conditions. Co-operation in the fields of tourism was also discussed. It was decided that an agreement would be facilitated wherein joint training, development of tourist destinations, enhancement of people to people interaction etc would be undertaken.

From the Namibian side the issue of extension activities in production of Bajra by India was highlighted. Namibia also expressed need for handholding and technology transfer for fertilizer manufacturing and vaccine production in Namibia. . Besides this, provisioning of market for table grapes and dates was also discussed. The discussion concluded in a warm and cordial atmosphere reflecting the friendly relations between the two countries. The meeting concluded with the signing of the mutually agreed document.

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Commerce and Industry Minister says Government is working at various levels to make India an investor friendly destination

Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has said that Government is working at various levels to make India an investor friendly destination. Speaking at the India Summit 2016 organised by The Economist ,she said the government is removing obstacles to make economy more vibrant and provide transparent and accountable governance.

Smt. Sitharaman said that Intellectual Property Rights policy alongwith legislative framework is TRIPS compliant. On the issue of FTA’s ,the Minister said that review of FTA’s is an ongoing process. She said post Brexit FTA with UK is possible only when it comes out of European Union.

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India continues its commitment for the development of ICT sector in Africa with the 2nd Edition of the Indo-Africa ICT Expo in Nairobi, Kenya

India’s Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC), in conjunction with NASSCOM & ICT Authority of Kenya embarked on the 2nd edition of the Indo-Africa ICT Expo at KICC, Nairobi. This event is supported by Government of India and Government of Kenya as well. The event was inaugurated by the India’s Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha and Minister of ICT Cabinet Secretary Mr. Joe Mucheru. The event is aimed at enhancing cooperation between African countries and India in the area of ICT technology. The event also saw attendance of various senior Government officials from neighboring countries and included South Sudan’s Deputy Minister of ICT & Postal Services, Mr. Akol Paul Kordit with a big delegation,Uganda’s Principal Secretary, ICT, Dr Jimmy Pat Saamanya, and Malawi’s Secretary of ICT and Civic Education, Mr Justin AdackK Saidi. The event also saw participation from business leaders from India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, Israel, South Sudan, Rwanda, Mauritius and Commonwealth Telecom Organization.

Inaugurating this event, Minister of Communications from India stated “I strongly believe that India has a vast experience in setting up of ICT infrastructure and the experience can be leveraged by Government as well as private sector in African Nations. To explore synergies on the ground, I have with me about 100 ICT companies from India participating in this event that will facilitate growth of business opportunities in our nations.”

Shri Sinha stressed on the fact that India as a country has conditions similar to those in the African Nations and also has special ties with East African countries. Together India sees many opportunities for cooperation and transfer of expertise in the areas of setting ICT infrastructure, solutions and application development, skill development and innovation that can be leveraged by the Governments as well as private sector in the continent and India is keen to find ways to increase the business between India and Africa in ICT sector.

Mr Joe Mucheru called upon Kenyan businesses to tap into the huge reservoir of knowledge among their Indian counterparts and develop technology based solutions for the Kenyan, African and even the global market. He also noted that there are numerous opportunities for partnerships between both public and private sectors of Kenya and India. He further stated that India and Africa continue to witness exponential growth in the telecommunication and information technology segments. It is thus essential to evaluate the areas where the two regions can cooperate so as to further enhance the lives of our people through technology.

The second edition of the Indo-Africa ICT Expo cum Conference sees more than 100 ICT companies participating from India showcasing their latest products and solutions to explore synergies on ground. The delegation comprises of heads and senior officials from Govt. and private companies.

A key highlight of the event on 1st September 2016, was the ICT Ministers Round Table Meeting on ‘Digital Dreams of the Developing Nations’, wherein ICT Ministers/Secretaries leading high level Government & business delegations from India, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Malawi participated. Government to Government bilateral talks were also held between Indian Government and official government delegations from Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and South Sudan.

In the background of over 100 Indian technology companies showing their latest products and solutions at the Indo-Africa ICT Expo cum Conference and packed Conference hall, Vice Chairman TEPC on behalf of the industry stated“Africa is one of the fastest growing ICT markets and its requirements are similar to Indian eco system. With India’s strength in ICT, strong Government commitment and financing support India can be trusted as a long term partner. We believe that Indian companies have an advantage in emerging markets like Africa, since they already have the experience of successfully tackling similar business challenges, competitive pressures and harsh operating environments in India.”

NASSCOM while talking about the event said, “Africa is turning into one of the fastest growing regions in the world, offering huge domestic market potential and growing economically at more than 5% per year. This event only reiterates the fact that India and Africa are well on their way to collaborate and become the next global leaders in technology.Africa is turning into one of the fastest growing regions in the world, offering huge domestic market potential and growing economically at more than 5% per year. During the last two years, the focus has been on SME sector engagement and a number of the participating delegate companies have achieved their biggest success in Africa.”

The Indo-Africa ICT Expo 2016 is the second edition of the annual event, and is being held in Nairobi from 1st September to 3rd September 2016. The sessions in Conference were aligned with theme of the event “Digital Dreams of Nation”. The event was attended by over 2500 visitors and over 300 conference delegates with a world class speaker panel. The Expo is designed to be a platform to build synergy among India & African countries to showcase innovative & diversified Products & Services and to bring together thought leaders across the entire ICT value chain to discuss solutions to regulatory and business.

The event also had more than 400 Business to Business meetings between Indian and African countries. The event saw very large no of business enquiries. There were already more than 10 MoUs and more than Rs. 40 Crore worth of business. In addition there are demand for setting up of training centre and technology transfer.

Telecommunication Equipment & Services Export promotion Council (TEPC), India also organizes BuyerSeller Business Meets in New Delhi also where potential buyers from across the globe are invited to meet the telecom equipment and services suppliers of India to develop long term business relations. The event for 2016 has been planned from 3rd to 5th October 2016 in New Delhi and Bangalore respectively. Mr. Sinha invited the large business delegations from participating countries to join for the event in India so that business contacts developed in Nairobi get translated to business.

Organizer of the event, Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC), India has been set up by the Government of India to promote and develop export of Telecom Equipment and Services from the country. TEPC as a Council plays a critical role in furtherance of Telecom exports from India and assists Indian member companies in easy facilitation of their respective exports. The Council caters to the complete Telecom Ecosystem including Telecom Hardware Manufacturing, Telecom Service Provision, Telecom Software, and Consultancy. TEPC recognizes the strengths of building a design-led manufacturing ecosystem for telecom products and the Government is committed to further support in the creation of domestic products and enables manufacturing with high domestic value-addition. India is poised for another digital revolution given the massive thrust on “Make in India” initiative & launch of “Digital India”, which creates a large opportunity for ICT sector.