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Venezuela urges Indian investors to cash in on the country's economic liberalisation
Mar 10, 2018
NEW DELHI, 10 March 2018. Mr. Jorge Arreaza Montserrat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela,has invited Indian investors to participate in the fulfilment of the country's new economic agenda which has thrown open its oil and other natural resources for commercial exploitation.
Addressing a business roundtable with Indian Industry organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), here today, Mr. Arreaza said that Venezuela was keen on forging joint ventures with Indian businesses for meeting the requirements of the domestic market and export to third countries.
He said that Venezuela was endowed with strategic metallic and non-metallic minerals, fertile agricultural land, and offered great potential for the development of tourism. These, he said, would be of interest to Indian investors.
Mr. Jose Vielma Mora, Minister of External Commerce and Foreign Investment, urged Indian businesses to see at first hand the complementarities between the Indian and the Venezuelan economies and factor in the favourable conditions for investment while drawing up their business plans.
He listed out the country's plan to diversify and develop its economy through a structured plan for agriculture, tax and tariff exemptions, easy approval of bank credit, offer of cheapest rates for electricity, oil, gas, industrial and drinking water and a qualified and trained workforce. With a host of other investment protection measures, India and Venezuela, he said, could create products for the Asian and Venezuelan markets
Mr. Rashesh Shah, President, FICCI, in his remarks, noted that besides the main items of trade between India and Venezuela like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, calcined petroleum coke (CPC), textiles and engineering products such as scooters, equipment, machinery and electrical cables, some reputed Indian pharma companies such as Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy's, Glenmark and Claris are operating in Venezuela, providing basic medicines in the country, which are estimated to be as much as 70%.