India The Indian Economic Trade Organization and the Embassy of Gabon established the GABON Business Council to enhance trade ties between the two nations. At the occasion, which was attended by the New Delhi business community, the MOU was signed by the Charge d’Affaires of the Gabon Embassy Josephine Patricia Ntyam-EHYA and the President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization Dr. Asif Iqbal.
At the GABON Embassy, Dr. Asif Iqbal, the president of the Indian Economic Trade Organization, met the delegation and expressed the two countries’ commitment to a strong collaboration. There is a tremendous deal of interest in India for GABON, a nation with many prospects for bilateral trade in the MSME, pharmaceutical, wood, and manufacturing sectors.
The occasion of the National Day at the ITC Maurya witnessed the diplomatic community and Gabonese foreign residents who united with a cultural performance by the Gabon team as Gabon commemorated 62 years of independence. The Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, Sevala Naik Mude IFS, was the event’s chief guest and underlined the need of deepening and enhancing bilateral ties through economic diplomacy in India.
The Council will work to make the most of the Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two nations and will plan a number of events to inform and foster a business-friendly environment in the Indian SME Investor Sector for improved business growth and investment promotion.
Global economic links are crucial, according to the Charge d’Affaires of the GABON Embassy, and the growth of trade ties between India and GABON is encouraging.
“As the organization’s president, it is my mission to strengthen ties between India and the Republic of Gabon, and we will send a group there in October 2022. In particular after the visit of our Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, the focus will be on deepening and broadening the connection by exploring new synergistic areas for cooperation and collaboration, according to Dr. Asif Iqbal, who is trying to connect the enterprises for business in GABON. The Indian team will look into potential for contract farming, the poultry sector, meat processing, and agricultural partnerships, as well as other chances to develop the country’s necessary infrastructure.
The Charge D’Affaires also indicated a strong desire to strengthen trade ties between the two nations and asked business leaders to research all of the options accessible to investors. SIndia and Gabon have friendly connections dating back to before the latter country got its independence. A former vice president of India made the first-ever high-level trip to Gabon in May 2022. India and Gabon are both non-permanent members of the UNSC at the moment (United Nation Security Council). The amount of bilateral trade between the two nations in 2021–2022 was 1.12 billion USD. India is Gabon’s second-largest export market.
More than 50 Indian companies have operations in the Gabon Special Economic Zone.
One of the first nations to ratify and sign the International Solar Alliance pact was Gabon. India requested that Gabon be provided with all available assistance in order to achieve its targets for renewable energy. Gabon plans to entirely use clean energy by 2030. India’s demand for energy security made Gabon an important partner in 2021–2022, when it paid almost USD 670 million for India to import crude oil. It is necessary to look into India-Gabon collaboration in a number of industries, such as green energy, services, health, and agriculture.
Both countries should broaden their economic partnership in order to attract investments.
