The 20th India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) took place in New Delhi on 26th and 27th February, 2019. It was co-chaired by Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry in India and Michele Geraci, Deputy Minister of Economic Development in Italy. The 19th session was held in Rome on 11th and 12th May, 2017. Issues of mutual interest related to economic and industrial cooperation (machinery, SMEs, energy, leather, pharma and investments) were deliberated upon.
The JCEC is an institutional mechanism for bilateral trade engagement, held at the ministerial level for Commerce and Industry between both countries. The agenda of the 20th session covered the following issues of mutual interest:
- Economic developments in India and Italy
- Bilateral Trade
- Diversification of Trade
- Bilateral Investment (including Startup India and Make in India)
- Economic and industrial cooperation
Both countries reiterated their commitment towards the development of bilateral trade and economic relations though the facilitation of dialogue and enhanced cooperation across machinery, engineering, infrastructure, ICT, agriculture, digitalization and Intellectual Property Rights.
In 2017-18, Italy was India’s 5th largest trading partner in the European Union and the 25th globally, with a growth rate of 18.41% in bilateral trade. Exports to Italy grew at 16.47% (USD 5.71 billion) and imports from Italy grew at 20.48% (USD 4.71 billion). Despite a global slowdown in the last few years, trade between India and Italy has been rising.
| 2015-2016 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 |
|---|---|---|
| USD 8.30 billion | USD 8.80 billion | USD 10.42 billion |
India’s attractive foreign investment policy has been supported by numerous liberalization measures. Italy’s FDI in India is ranked 17th between April 2000 to December 2018, with total inflows valued at USD 2.72 billion.
Italy’s inherent strengths lie in skills training, manufacturing and design and innovation. On the other hand, India has a vast pool of skilled human resources, competitive wage rates and comparative advantage in sectors like auto components, leather, textiles as well as gems and jewellery.
Thus, Italy and India share crucial trade relations that have immense potential for cooperation and partnerships between industries, provided concerted efforts are made to further expand and promote bilateral trade.
Suresh Prabhu expressed gratitude for Italy’s submission of an evaluation report on Tricyclazole (TCA) in rice to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and removal of the alert on Indian Incense Sticks from the RAPEX portal. He further reiterated India’s commitment towards achieving an early and balanced outcome to the India-EU BTIA (Broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement) negotiations.
Michele Geraci expressed the interest of Italian companies in investing in India and the need to establish practical mechanisms, similar to the working group on agriculture that has been set up to facilitate investments and joint ventures in the agricultural sectors of both countries. He added that Italy is looking to work in areas like financial services, renewable energy, infrastructure, transport development in railways, construction and the automotive sector.
Both ministers highlighted the joint need of resolving issues of market access for business and investment, in order to positively impact trade relations between both countries. The overall tonality of the meeting was one of strategic partnership, underlined by the desire to strengthen economic and commercial ties based on mutual benefits and equity.
Both sides agreed to hold the 21st meeting of the Joint Commission in Italy in 2021.
Information and image sourced from link.
India Outbound
February 28, 2019
source https://indiaoutbound.org/joint-commission-for-economic-cooperation-between-india-and-italy/
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