India’s huge maritime sector potential will provide new opportunities for Korea, an Indian envoy says. Indian Ambassador to Korea Vikram Doraiswami said at a press conference before the “Maritime India Summit” that India is looking for a long-term partnership with Korea in the sector to drive economic growth. The summit is scheduled for April 14-16 at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Center in Mumbai City. “The focus of the event is on India’s maritime economy, comprising shipbuilding, port development, inland waterway development, aquaculture and marine leisure,” the ambassador said at the Millennium Seoul Hilton on Apil 7. With Korea as the sole partner country, the meeting aims to “complement India’s efforts to develop its maritime sector and attract global investment as part of the Make in India’ initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” according to the Indian embassy in Seoul. Dilip Sundaram, chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICCK), Parth Sharma, ICCK vice chairman and Cho Shin-hee, director general of the overseas fisheries and international policy bureau at Korea’s ministry of oceans and fisheries, attended the press conference. “Korea is one of the world’s leading countries in maritime-related technologies, accounting for more than 30 percent of the global shipbuilding market,” Sharma said. “It is also an important logistics hub with the world’s fourth-largest container throughput.” A Korean delegation of 200 experts is planning to hold a special session to share the country’s technology in the maritime field. There will also be a Korean food festival during the summit. The vice chairman said the event is essential to India, since the country sees its role in global trade increasing and is poised to take full advantage of lower logistics costs. “So we aim to create an awareness of the untapped potential of the sector, as well engage all stakeholders in the road map for coastal and waterways development through this summit,” the ICCK vice chairman said. On the first day, thematic sessions covering topics including India’s Sagarmala project and shipbuilding and ship repair will be held, along with Korea’s special session and the CEO’s closed-door talks, organizers said. On the second day, the forum will deal with inland water transportation and coastal shipping, hinterland connectivity and multi-modal logistics. There also will be a seminar on maritime security. Under Sagarmala, designed to link ports and promote industrialization, over 150 projects are under way, the vice chairman said. The project aims to achieve “port modernization, stronger connectivity, port-led industrialization and coastal community development,” he said. He said investors, especially from Korea, are expected find opportunities in many projects through the event including greenfield ports, new berths in major ports, roads, railways, pipelines, multi-modal logistic hubs and pork-linked clusters. India is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, with gross domestic product growth of 7.5 percent in 2015-16. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the nation was the fourth most attractive destination for foreign direct investment. It has a coastline of 7,517 kilometers and navigable inland waterways of 14,500 kilometers.
koreatimes.co.kr