New Institution India: CII announces ‘Shanghai-Mumbai dialogue’

To help strengthen bilateral cooperation, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has set up an institutional mechanism – the ‘Shanghai-Mumbai Dialogue’ which was recently launched at a conference in Mumbai.

The ‘Shanghai-Mumbai Dialogue’ brought together government, industry and think tanks for an annual dialogue that lead to concrete measures to strengthen cooperation between these two cities and eventually extend to the whole of India. Speaking at the conference on “China & India: Strengthening Partnership in Science & Technology, Innovation, Financial & IT Services” organized by CII in Mumbai, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadanavis mentioned that the state of Maharashtra is the powerhouse of India and Mumbai is the economic capital of India. He further added that India is a land of opportunity with a billion plus population of which 70 per cent comprise of youth, laying out huge opportunities to companies with the aspiring population which needs better infrastructure and a transparent ecosystem.

Business opportunities for both sides

“The state is now opening doors of opportunity for technology companies with 10 smart city projects for improving city infra. The state government has allocated 15 billion USD for this project in the current year,” he said. “With Shanghai as a partner to Mumbai we look forward to learn how we can transform the city with technology advances. With the ‘Make in India’ initiative Chinese manufacturers can now locate themselves in Maharashtra as India is a huge market. Opportunities also exist for electronic manufacturers with the state’s new electronic and FAB policy which gives out huge incentives to manufacturers. There are immense opportunities in the service sector as the state is planning to develop Mumbai as a financial service hub,” asserted Fadnavis.

The role of Shanghai

Member of Political Bureau, CPC Central Committee and Party Secretary of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Han Zheng, while addressing the conference, mentioned that the world is following two economies and both have contributed immensely to the world growth. “At present 50 per cent of Indian merchandise coming to China comes through Shanghai which signifies the strength of the bilateral trade. The teaming of Mumbai and Shanghai as sister cities in the presence of respective country leaders in 2014 has lead towards signing of a Cooperation MoU. The location of the New Development Bank’s headquarters at Shanghai is the testimony of the commitment to development. Today, India and China are deeply integrated with the world economy and we have much in common and both nations can benefit out of it,” added Zheng. He also stated that Shanghai is currently one of the five prosperous cities of the world, and that the development of Shanghai showcases the socialist development path of China.

(ID:44078779)