SME Times News Bureau | 28 Nov, 2018
Union Commerce Minister
Suresh Prabhu and visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Gabon, Regis
Immongault on Wednesday discussed about bilateral trade and investment between
the two countries.
Prabhu, while welcoming
the Foreign Minister of Gabon, said that India attaches lot of importance to
its relations with Gabon and it will give all assistance to Gabon in order to
fulfil the objective of Gabon to become an emerging economy by 2025.
He further said that it
is possible for the two countries to work together in sectors like logistics,
infrastructure, energy, water, agriculture, services and tourism.
Prabhu informed the
Foreign Minister of Gabon that bilateral trade between India and Gabon is
currently valued at USD 440.47 million and is yet to realize its full
potential. Both sides will have to work together to improve bilateral trade in
the coming years.
At present Indian companies
are already operating in wood, plywood, mining and fisheries sectors. The
Gabonese Foreign Minister said that Gabon is looking for stronger involvement
of BRICS countries in the development of different sectors in Gabon.
Gabon has shown
interest in entering into a Bilateral Investment Treaty with India. India has
also urged Gabon to avail the offer of Lines of Credit (LoC) for developmental
projects.
As a member of the
International Solar Alliance, Gabon is also eligible to avail LoC for solar
projects.
India also suggested
that Gabon may give a complete list of minerals for Indian industries to
consider investing in for mining projects.
Gabon has the 6th
largest reserves of Manganese in the world. It is one of the four countries in
the world with high grade reserves along with South Africa, Australia and
Brazil. It is the 4th largest producer, globally, of manganese ore
with 11 % share in global production after South Africa (26%), China (17%) and
Australia (15%).
With large reserves yet
to exploited, the Gabonese side is keen to develop this sector. Manganese Ore
India Ltd (MOIL) team visited Gabon in July 2018 to explore possibilities of
joint collaboration with Gabonese mining companies.
Gabon is also making
efforts to attract investment from India in construction of railway lines in
key mining clusters in Gabon.
A feasibility study was
conducted by RITES for one of the proposed lines. Both India and Gabon have
agreed to send business delegations to look at opportunities for trade and
investments.