The Vice President noted that India-Gabon bilateral trade has crossed US$ 1 billion mark in 2021-22 despite the pandemic and that India is now the 2nd largest destination for Gabonese exports.
New Delhi: The Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said that India believes the progress of the world is contingent on the development of the Global South and that ‘we attach utmost priority to the India-Africa relationship’. The Vice President, who is on a three-nation tour of Gabon, Senegal and Qatar, was addressing the business community at the India-Gabon Business event in Libreville, Gabon on Tuesday.
Speaking about India’s growing economic relationship with Africa, he said that ‘India’s own vision of cooperation with Africa will increasingly focus on health, digital and green growth. And this is so because we believe that these are Africa’s priorities as well’.
The Vice President noted that India-Gabon bilateral trade has crossed US$ 1 billion mark in 2021-22 despite the pandemic and that India is now the 2nd largest destination for Gabonese exports. He also noted the presence of several Indian companies in diverse sectors such as Oil & Gas, Mining, pharmaceuticals, wood processing, etc, especially in the Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ). Earlier today, Shri Naidu visited the Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ) and witnessed the facilities and interacted with the Indian entrepreneurs there.
Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, who is also a part of the official delegation, addressed the business community and called for further exploring India-Gabon cooperation in green energy, services, health, and agriculture among other sectors. She suggested that India and Gabon should broad base their economic partnership and harness the complementarities in their economy to attract investments. “A lot more can be done together if we identify the core strengths and possible pathways for collaboration”, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar added.
