India, Colombia plan to increase trade to $1 bn by fiscal end.

New Delhi: In an effort to further boost their trade and economic relations, both India and Colombia are planning to increase their bilateral trade around 23% to $1 billion by 2010-11.

Colombian ambassador to India Juan Alfredo Pinto Saavedra told FE, ‘The bilateral trade was $813 million in 2009-10. In 2011, we expect it to go up to $1 billion. In 2009, we registered an extraordinary growth in our commercial relations and achieved a more equilibrated performance in trade. Our exports grew in 2009 to $449 million with the principal products of trade being oil, coal, sugar, candies, wood furniture, petrochemicals, home furnishing and emeralds.”

South America’s third-largest oil producer, Colombia, is expected to generate more than 1 million barrels of crude a day by 2012 — double its production in 2006 — and their state-owned Ecopetrol accounts for nearly 90% of the production.

According to the Colombian envoy, “OVL and Reliance have already invested in the petroleum sector of Colombia, however, we are now inviting the Indian companies to participate in the auctions of oil blocks by Ecopetrol later this year.”

A full 80% of the $7.2 billion in direct foreign investment of the country reaped last year went to petroleum and mining with investment in the latter sector nearly doubling to $3.1 billion.

Source : financialexpress.com