Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Friday suggested that the government should have a working group on tourism between the nations of the Mediterranean and India, as there is a huge potential for cooperation and mutual benefit.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) India-Mediterranean Business Conclave 2024 today in New Delhi, Goyal said that India offers a large market for Mediterranean goods and services given the close connection both nations have shared over the decades.

Goyal stated that India and Mediterranean countries have a huge common interest in the shipping sector, whether in shipbuilding, ownership, the maritime sector, or the cruise business. He added that the Centre sees a huge opportunity in developing ports and has doubled the port capacity in the last decade. We hope to double the capacity of ports in the next 5 years, the Union Minister added.

The Union Minister also said that he is optimistic about the India-Mediterranean partnership and will work towards economic prosperity and mutual growth for Mediterranean countries and India for a cleaner, sustainable, more resilient, secure, inclusive, and brighter future for all.

He stated that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is an important initiative that can add to India’s maritime security and faster movement of goods between Europe and Asia.

Goyal said that IMEC was launched during India’s G20 presidency and aims to integrate India, Europe, and the Middle-East through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and the European Union.

He noted that lower logistics costs, faster connectivity, and secure movement of goods are dependent on better cooperation in this area.

Going further, the Union Minister noted that initiatives like the PLI scheme, Centre’s efforts towards Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) through FTAs and economic partnerships have boosted India’s manufacturing growth story, and the nation’s efforts to promote agri-value chains can support the initiatives between India and Mediterranean countries.

Goyal added that India is one of the fastest-growing economies with young demography and that it will drive global growth for decades to come. India is expected to become the third largest economy in the next few years, he said. Further, the Minister noted that India has embarked on Make in India and digitisation of the economy and has initiated a holistic effort to make doing business in India easier.

Areas like renewable energy, manufacturing, maritime and blue economy, digitisation, pharma, information technology, agriculture, and tourism have huge potential in the country, and investors have the opportunity to be a part of this growth story.