PIB | 20 Jul, 2022
Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry(MoS) Anupriya Patel today met Pacome Moubelet-Boubeya, Minister of State, Minister of Industry, Republic of Gabon who is on a two day visit to New Delhi to attend 17th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership.
Minister
Moubelet-Boubeya was accompanied by a high-level delegation of ten
members including Mr. Hugues Judicael Mbadinga Madiya, Minister for the
Promotion of Investment and Public -Private Partnership, Republic of
Gabon and Ms. Yolande Christiane Nyonda, Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs. .
The
two Ministers held forward looking and productive discussions covering
the entire gamut of bilateral trade, commerce, economic and investment
ties between the two countries.
They also discussed active economic
engagement and identified new areas for cooperation, particularly in
mining, defence, agriculture, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and renewable
energy.
The two Ministers while expressing satisfaction upon the
growing bilateral trade which had crossed 1.2 billion USD in 2021-22
despite the pandemic, acknowledged the need for diversification of trade
basket and deeper cooperation in bilateral investment.
Minister
Moubelet-Boubeya apprised MoS about the investment opportunities in
Gabon, especially in the Gabon Special Economic Zone (GSEZ) wherein 54
Indian companies have set up manufacturing units in various sectors like
pharma, timber, mining, steel and food processing.
Both sides noted the
need for cooperation in skill development /training and capacity
building in key sectors, including quality standards.
MoS
appreciated the “Emergent Gabon Vision 2025” plan and assured India's
full cooperation in Gabon's transformation and diversification of its
economy.
Patel also appreciated the joint efforts of India and
Africa Group at the recent WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva.
Both Ministers have agreed to continue cooperation at various
multilateral organisations, including the UN and the WTO.