Source: New Kerala

November 7, 2011: Border trade and investment facilitation as well as cooperation in services and technology transfer must be addressed for greater economic linkages between India and Myanmar, said industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The two countries should conclude an agreement on cooperation in banking and financial services to enable greater private sector engagement, it suggested in a report.

"Myanmar represents a bridge between the vibrant economies of India, ASEAN and East Asia through the northeastern states and offers huge investment scope to Indian companies across diverse sectors particularly in its rich natural resources of energy, forestry and minerals," it said..

The comprehensive CII report comes ahead of premier trade exhibition 'Enterprise India' organised by CII with Embassy of India and Ministry of Commerce and Industry at Yangon on 7-10 November, 2011.

A high-level delegation of 30 CEOs led by Mr Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, CII ASEAN / ANZ Regional Committee and Chairman and Managing Director, Kirloskar Brothers Limited, will travel to Myanmar for the occasion.

Bilateral trade has gone up from over 0.5 billion dollars in 2004 to 1.3 billion dollars in 2010.

India's exports stand at 334.4 million dollars while it imports goods worth over 1 billion dollars from Myanmar.

The main exports to Myanmar are pharma products, iron and steel, and electrical machinery and equipment. India imports large amounts of edible vegetables and wood from Myanmar.