India will drive global trade post-Covid-19: DP World chief

Dubai [UAE], October 20 : India would drive global trade post the COVID-19 pandemic, said DP World chief Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem adding that he has been impressed and motivated by India as it envisions a more competitive future.
"India is poised to take advantage of the supply chain shifts triggered by Covid-19 and knows it. I have been impressed and motivated by India as it continues to fuel its vision of a more competitive future in the global trade economy," said Sulayem in his article for the Khaleej Times dated Sunday.
He said, "India's allowance of 100 per cent foreign direct investment in most sectors, exempting companies from sharing their trade secrets with local partners, makes the country an attractive place to do business."
The DP World Chief further wrote that the trilateral Supply Chain Resilience initiative along with Australia and Japan "is a potentially game-changing opportunity" for India to solidify its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region adding, "The country is displaying remarkable strength across its 17 so-called 'Champion Sectors' such as textiles and biotechnology as it continues to move up the value chain with first-world markets."
He feels that despite India's apparent success, the rapidly rising expectations are outpacing what it can realistically deliver further suggesting that domestic production needs improving while, "complex federal and political structures can hamper the smooth flow of goods across the country."
"As Bipul Chatterjee (executive director at CUTS International in India) points out, while productivity remains steady, the challenge remains to reduce the country's incremental capital-output ratio from the current level of 4.5 to 3.6," Sulayem wrote in his article.
"Today, we already benefit from a significant presence in India. Six port terminals across the Indian coastline handle one-fourth of India's container trade volume, and we are building two FTZs at strategic locations in Nhava Sheva and Chennai, helping to expand their trade and manufacturing capability," he added.
In order to help "India further its ambitions", he said that he is committed to an "even deeper partnership" between India and DP World, spanning the supply chain, technology, government and infrastructure development projects, and even sport.
"By making India's domestic supply chains more efficient, we aim to reduce India's cost of logistics while improving their real-time visibility, predictability, and connectivity. Through our partnership, I hope that together we can energise and fulfil the vision of the Indian government's Sagarmala programme, set up with the aim of modernising the country's logistics sector, boosting exports, and generating millions of new jobs," he wrote further.