Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, today, said “India, which has set a target of becoming a $5 trillion economy, has become a centre of attraction for global investor community. A stable, vibrant and peace-loving democracy, India is the place to look forward to. This is what I gather from various heads of State and diplomats I have had interaction in the recent past.

Addressing Deccan Dialogue, a Conference on Economic Diplomacy in the Age of Disruptions, at Indian School of Business, Naidu said “the entire world is looking at India. I have visited 22 countries in the recent period and my interaction shows how enthusiastic they are all to be part of the India growth story aided by the reforms initiated by the Narendra Modi Government.”

The event co-hosted by the ISB and The Ministry of External Affairs, saw participation of industry leaders, representatives of some State Governments and diplomats.

Naidu said the Prime Minister has given a three line agenda which speaks about reform, perform and transform. The transformation part is related to bringing about transformation in the lives of people and minimising governance. Referring to economic issues, he said, “we may have phases of ups and downs and there could be some temporary pain but I am sure we are all in for long term gain. And this is something everyone across the globe realise.”

With a sixth of the global population and a thriving economy backed by young population, there is immense scope for cooperative development, he said. “The older patterns of trade and commerce are in the process of an ongoing paradigm shift--the rules-based, anti-discriminatory and the all-inclusive multilateral trading system, centered around the UN, the WTO and the international law, is facing an uncertain future.”

The Vice President further said “In the face of the ongoing transformations, it becomes all the more important that we support the efforts towards making global governance more representative by ensuring greater participation of emerging markets and developing countries in global decision-making.”

For a young, dynamic and developing country like India, he said globalisation put the markets of the world within a reaching distance and combined with the process of economic liberalisation undertaken by India, the job market that young Indians face today is fundamentally different from what it used to be a couple of decades ago.

Enhanced regional connectivity, both physical and digital, can boost trade and play a pivotal role in bringing prosperity and development. However, for such initiatives to be successful and sustainable they should be transparent, inclusive and respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

Earlier, V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, said, “the focus is on accelerating the reform process as we set out to achieve the goal of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy. The changes brought about in FDI norms and recent banking reforms are illustrative of this.”

ISB Dean Rajendra Srivastava said that Deccan Dialogue has provided a platform to deliberate on the growing number of disruptions we have come to face lately. The scope and scale of disruption has been on multiple fronts be it geopolitical, climate change, changing economic equations. All these call for innovative approaches.

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