Speeches/Statements Speech by Ambassador at Seminar on‘Business and Investment Opportunities in Odisha State, India
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Speech by Ambassador at Seminar on‘Business and Investment Opportunities in Odisha State, India

Embassy of India

Bangkok

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Seminar on

‘Business and Investment Opportunities in Odisha State, India’

3rd November, 2017,

Holiday Inn Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok

 

Shri Shashi Bhusan Behera, Hon’ble Minister of Finance and Excise, Govt. of Odisha

Khun Sanan Angubolkul, Vice President, The Thai Chamber of Commerce & Board of Trade of Thailand

Members of the visiting delegation

Friends from Thai business and industry

Ladies and gentlemen,

Sawadee Krub

I am very happy to join this business seminar organized with the objective of identifying business opportunities between the State of Odisha and Thailand.

2. India and Thailand enjoy excellent relations in the areas of political, defence & security, business & commerce and people to people contacts. The relationship is civilizational and historic based on strong cultural bonds with Ramayana and Buddhism linking and influencing our two cultures. As I always say there are no ups and downs in the relationship; it has only one direction and that is upward.

3. After the formation of a new Government in India in May 2014, the country has been undergoing tremendous transformation especially in the area of doing business. In World Bank rankings released three days ago both are countries are in the list of top 5 improvers. India has gone up 30 places in just one year. This is because of initiatives such as Digital India, Make in India, Skill India, Smart Cities and so on. The most significant initiative taken to simplify doing business is the streamlining of the tax structure through a common Goods & Services Tax across all States. The new Government is also consciously encouraging the States to take their own initiatives to attract foreign investment and engage with the business sectors of other countries. We are happy that Odisha has taken up the suggestion with keen gusto.

4. Thailand, on its part, is also undergoing transformation through initiatives such as Digital Thailand and Thailand 4.0 for moving to the fourth stage of economic development and to make Thailand an innovation and technology centric economy. The changes in both countries throw up opportunities for Indian and Thai companies to work together, collaborate, form joint ventures and join the transformation process going in both countries.

5. Annual trade between India and Thailand is in the range of USD 8-9 billion and there is substantial cross economy investment as well. Major Thai businesses such as the CP group, Thai Summit Group, Siam Cement group, Delta Electronics, Ital Thai and Pruksa Realty are present in India. On the other hand, Indian companies such as the Aditya Birla Group, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Indorama, TCS, Tech Mahindra, etc. have very large investments in Thailand.

6. I am glad the Government of Odisha has chosen Thailand as a partner for doing business. Thailand, being a maritime neighbor of India, should be one of the first choices. We have very good air connectivity between Bangkok and various cities of India. This connectivity would certainly contribute to ease of doing business between Indian States and Thailand.

7. Odisha is a dynamic State of India with strong political stability. It has good infrastructure including ports, road and rail network. It ranks among the top 3 states in India, in terms of attracting manufacturing investments. The State contributes to about 11% of the total value of mineral production in India and is the largest stainless steel producer in India.

8. The Government of Odisha has taken lot of initiatives to make doing business easier. The delegation will go into this in detail in their presentations. The sectors in focus are Chemicals, Petro Chemicals, Textiles, Healthcare and Biotechnology, Agro & Food Procdessing, and Urban Infrastructure.

9. I am happy that the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand has partnered with Embassy in organizing this event. I wish to sincerely thank the Chamber and the Board of Trade for the support they have extended. I also thank the Hon’ble Minister and the delegation from Odisha. I would like to assure him that our Embassy will extend full support for facilitation of trade and investment between Odisha and Thailand.

12. I thank you for your attention.

 

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