Cooperation between India, Mekong region a win-win proposition: Salman Khurshid

Describing the economic cooperation between India and countries of the Mekong region as a "win-win proposition", External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said level of infrastructure financing in all the countries of the region should be stepped up.

The Union Minister highlighted the need to improve connectivity between India and the Mekong region, comprising Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Terming the Mekong-India economic cooperation a win-win proposition, he said that the trade between India and the region has grown from two billion US dollars to 17.4 billion US dollars over the past decade thereby recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 25 %.

Khurshid, on the sidelines of a CII conference on "Promoting Mekong India Economic Cooperation" here, stressed on the importance of stepping up the level of infrastructure financing in all the countries of the region "to promote connectivity in terms of land, maritime and air." He also said there is a need for countries to ease the process of issuance of visas as well as to grant longer validity for business purposes.

"We are in talks with 40 countries to whom we can provide visa on arrival. Many countries have already been providing the facility to other countries including ours. We try to reciprocate, but such decisions are taken in consideration the safety and security concerns.

"We are trying to make it a possibility and working in that direction. A formal announcement will be made once all procedures are completed," Khurshid said.

Khurshid said that there is a need to give long term visas to frequent fliers. "In US and European countries, long term visas up to 10 years are given after verifying the antecedents of the frequent fliers.

"In India long term visa is given to people who want to live here for up to five years, but there is no provision to extend the same long term visa to frequent fliers. There is a need to consider this matter," said Khurshid, adding he will take up the matter with the Home Ministry.

The conference was jointly organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) . 

He said that the Delhi - Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) could be a good model to follow whereby industrial development is being promoted all along the entire stretch of the corridor.

Khurshid said that India and ASEAN would conclude the FTA in Services shortly and this would pave the way for the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII stated that the Mekong region is critical for India in light of its "Look East Policy" initiated in 1992. Banerjee said the trade target of 100 billion US dollar by 2015 is significant and achievable.