ASEAN is the third largest export destination of Indian engineering products

ASEAN will be an important region for India with an export target of US$ 46 billion in 2021-22, Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Anupriya Patel has said.

This will help in meeting India's global export target of US$ 400 billion for the financial year, she said on Tuesday.

According to an official statement, Patel described trade as an important engine of growth for India and ASEAN.

Patel was speaking after inaugurating the “India-ASEAN Engineering Partnership Summit” organised by the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) with support from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Commerce. The focus of the summit was on collaborations in engineering sector.

The minister said engineering exports constitute one-fourth of the merchandise exports and is the largest foreign exchange earners among all export sectors and the performance of engineering exports has been remarkable in the last few years.

ASEAN, with over 15 percent share in India’s global engineering shipment, is likely to be a key region to focus with a target of around USD 16 billion of exports for 2021-22 in this sector.

The minister said that both India and ASEAN have a large share of skilled population, robust service and manufacturing sectors and there are many complementary sectors and products available for greater cooperation.

With a combined economy of approx. US$ 5.8 trillion, there is significant potential for enhancing trade and investment partnership between India and ASEAN, she pointed out.

The government has taken numerous measures to make India an even more attractive destination for foreign direct investment, Patel added.

According to the commerce ministry, ASEAN as a region is the third largest export destination of Indian engineering products after EU and North America.

Among the ASEAN member nations, Singapore and Malaysia are major export destinations for Indian engineering products.