India, South Korea jog towards $40 bn trade target.

Seoul: India and South Korea expressed their determination to achieve a trade target of $40 billion by 2015 during a two-day visit of Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram who invited the South Korean businesses and industries to invest more in the Indian market, particularly in infrastructure.

Chidambaram visited South Korea Nov 2-3 to hold the 3rd India-Korea Finance Ministers’ Meeting here.

He met Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jaewan Friday and held wide-ranging discussions on financial and economic matters of bilateral concern as well as on relevant regional and international developments, said a press release from the Indian embassy.

Chidambaram was accompanied by a high-level delegation from India comprising senior officials from the finance ministry, tax experts, and also a senior representative of the EXIM Bank of India.

The two ministers recognized the immense potential that exists between the two countries for greater investment and trade flows, and agreed to work towards realizing this potential.

They referred to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which had resulted in 70 percent growth in bilateral trade in two years since its implementation in January 2010, and expressed determination to make cooperative and concerted efforts to achieve the target of $40 billion by 2015 set during the visit of India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to South Korea in March 2012.

The two sides exchanged views on macro-economic outlook, and explored ways and policy directions to strengthen their cooperation further.

During delegation level talks, the discussions were over fiscal policy, taxation, customs clearance, public procurement and infrastructure cooperation.

The two countries agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the near future aimed at institutionalizing the cooperation between the finance ministries of the two countries and benefiting from sharing of their experiences and best practices.

Chidambaram also held a business interactive session with top CEOs of South Korean industry organized by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

He spoke of the strength and growth potential of the Indian economy and invited the South Korean businesses and industries to invest more in the Indian market, particularly in Indian infrastructure sector.

Source : firstpost.com