RESS RELEASE : Indian Services Delegation at CIFTIS China
05/31/2014
A 60-member Indian services sector delegation participated in the 3rd China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing from 28-31st May. This is one of the largest services sector delegation from India to visit China in recent years and the first such delegation after the new Government assumed charge in India. The verticals of healthcare, media and entertainment, Information technology, and tourism constituted this multi-sectoral delegation. These are the priority sectors identified for cooperation by the inter-governmental Joint Working Group on Trade in Services led by Commerce Ministries on both sides.
Senior government delegates from the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Department of Electronics and Information Technology of India formed part of the delegation. The business delegation, under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry, was led by Mr Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom 18 Pvt Ltd., a leading company in the entertainment space. Other industry representatives marking their presence include Fortis, Max, Apollo, Viacom, Zee, Eros, IATO etc.
The delegation was accompanied by renowned Bollywood actor Divya Datta. The Bollywood personality inaugurated the India pavilion at CIFTIS together with Ambassador Ashok K. Kantha on 28th May. Later in the day, she was also part of a dialogue on "Indian Cinema on the Global Stage" at the Embassy followed by screening of the Hindi film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag with Chinese sub-titles, under the Embassy's on-going 'Glimpses of India' Festival.
A half day seminar on 29th May on finding "New Opportunities and New Possibilities in Trade in Services between India and China" drew good response from Chinese companies and government representatives. The seminar was supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India and Ministry of Commerce of China. A bilingual services guide, in English and Chinese, with background information of all the sectors and the opportunities in these sectors was released on the occasion. Ambassador Ashok Kantha in his keynote speech at the Plenary emphasized the immense space for enhancing services sector cooperation even as both countries prioritize expanded and broad based economic engagement. He drew similarity between China's emphasis on the growth of a strong and robust services sector and India's similar emphasis on achieving the same in the manufacturing sector. Subsequent speakers discussed the segment specific opportunities in IT, tourism, healthcare and media and entertainment.
Two additional meetings focused on IT were also held to coincide with Indian participation at CIFTIS. This included a round table meeting with 31 central State-owned Enterprises on forenoon of 29th May to explore collaboration between Indian IT companies and Chinese SOEs in China and third countries. Leading Chinese SOEs such as State Grid, China Mobile, CNPC, CNOOC, Huaneng, Shenhua participated. This is the first ever such interaction between Chinese SOEs and Indian IT companies. Another IT workshop on the licensing and regulatory regime in China was held in partnership with the China Software Industry Association and NASSCOM, and supported by the Ministry of Industry and information Technology of China and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India. Apart from above, each sectoral delegation had detailed meetings with Chinese stakeholders and site visits to discuss cooperation possibilities. This included Business-to-business meetings in the tourism sector on 28th May.
Beijing
May 31, 2014
