Spotlight on India at China-South Asia Expo

KUNMING: It’s India moment for at the third edition of the China-South Asia Expo, which began on June 12 in Kunming, capital of the southwestern Yunnan Province.

Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh headed a 200-strong business delegation, from India to take part in this showpiece diplomatic-business conducted by China to underline synergies between South Asia with the mainland China. This year, India is the guest of honour at the expo, which has seen sealing of deals worth billions of dollars.

Keen to cash in on new opportunities, the Indian delegation comprising marquee names in India’s business world such as the Tata Group and Infosys have pitched their tent at the expo. In addition, West Bengal’s Finance Minister Amit Mitra headed a delegation from his state to attend the Expo.

This is the third consecutive year that the South Asia Expo is being organised by China. The five-day expo is aimed at boosting cooperation between China and South Asian nations, where China has ramped up its investments and financed mammoth infrastructure projects. Besides India, delegations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal are also participating in the event.

After its opening, the five-day expo has attracted more than 20,000 businessmen and 3,179 enterprises from about 70 countries or regions. So far, nearly 300 deals worth $55 billion have been signed at the expo. The deals included 255 domestic investment projects worth $49 billion and 44 foreign investment and trade deals worth $5.7 billion.

The international deals involved companies from several countries, including the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

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