Embassy of India
Bangkok
***
MoU Signing between India-Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok
and The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore Chapter, Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISIA)
28 March, 2019
Remarks by Ambassador
Mr. S. S. Phool, President, ITCC;
Consul Pavikkorn Phuangketkeow of the Consulate General of Thailand in Chennai;
Mr. V. Lakshminarayanasamy, President, The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore
Mr. R. Ramamurthy, President, Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISIA)
Mr. Souvik Roy, Vice President, ITCC
Mr. D. Devdas, former Secretary of ITCC;
Distinguished members of ITCC
Namaskar, Sawadee Ka, Sat Sri Akal, Salaam Alaikum!
My husband Ambassador Swaminathan and I are delighted to join you at this significant event of signing of MoU between India-Thailand Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok and The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore Chapter & Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISIA).
2. India-Thailand Chamber of Commerce (ITCC) has a long history of promoting India-Thailand trade and investment relations and has played stellar role in further strengthening business bonds between our two countries.
3. The signing of MoU between ITCC and Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore Chapter & Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISIA) will certainly help in forging and further establishing business linkages between Indian and Thai companies, particularly companies based in Tamil Nadu.
4. Tamil Nadu is among the foremost dynamic and prosperous States of India, attracting high FDI. The State has excellent infrastructure including ports, road and rail network. It is the 2nd largest State economy in India and contributes significantly to India’s GDP growth. Tamil Nadu with its large number of exporting Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is the manufacturing and export hub of India. The major industries that contribute to Tamil Nadu’s exports are Automobiles & Components, Electronic Hardware, IT Services, Leather Goods, and textiles. I am particularly happy that Codisia, representing 100,000 SMEs, is also here.
5. The Government of Tamil Nadu has taken lot of initiatives to make doing business easier in the State, including Single Window Portal with online clearances and approvals. The State has lot of advantages of doing business due to excellent port connectivity, well developed infrastructure, availability of skilled labour, major industrial base, etc. The State has presence of more than 50 Fortune 500 companies.
6. We have very good air connectivity between Bangkok and various cities of India, including Chennai the capital of Tamil Nadu. This connectivity would certainly contribute to ease of doing business between Indian States and Thailand. We are also working on port connectivity between ports on east coast of India (such as Chennai and Vizag) and west coast of Thailand (Ranong).
7. We are seeing increasing interest among the Thai businessmen towards India. A SME delegation from Thailand led by the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ISMED) visited Tamil Nadu in August 2018 for exploring opportunities of collaboration & experience sharing with potential Indian SMEs based in and around Chennai. ISMED has been tasked by Thai Prime Minister's office to organize interaction of SMEs between India & Thailand. The Tamil Nadu government in association with the Embassy also organized a investment and trade promotion seminar in Bangkok in July 2018. One of the largest companies of Thailand, Delta Electronics, partnered to organize this business seminar.
8. I am sure the Indian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore Chapter & Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISIA) will further develop these business linkages, particularly among SMEs and attract investment in India. The Chamber, established in 1929, is one of the oldest Chambers of Commerce in India. They may like to establish contact with ISMED, Thailand.
9. Today, India is transforming itself at a faster rate. As you may be aware, India jumped 23 positions from 100 to 77 in World Bank’s Doing Business Report amongst 190 countries. India has improved 53 positions in last two years and 65 positions in last 4 years.
10. I would like to inform you that the bilateral trade between India and Thailand is gaining momentum. It’s encouraging that the bilateral trade in 2018 grew by about 20% and India’s exports to Thailand grew by 24.86% over the previous year. In a recent high level meeting, both India and Thailand have agreed to double the bilateral trade to USD 20 bn plus in next four years.
11. I, on the part of my Embassy, would like to assure you of full support for facilitation of trade and investment between India and Thailand.
12. With these few words, I congratulate the ITCC, The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Coimbatore District Small Industries Association for the signing of the MoU and wish them all the best in their endeavors. I also take this opportunity to congratulate the new members of ITCC. I would also like to appreciate the efforts made by Mr. D. Devadas, Former Secretary of ITCC for successful coordination of the visit of delegation from Coimbatore. His knowledge and experience of Thailand will immensely contribute for further strengthening exchanges between the State of Tamil Nadu and Thailand. I convey my best wishes to all of you in your future endeavors.
Thank you.
Khap Kun Ka.
Nanri Vanakkam.
***
