The volume of bilateral trade between India and Myanmar is expected to reach $10 billion by 2020, said an official of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).
This was the outcome of discussion last week at the Joint Trade and Investment Forum which focused on trade promotion, cooperation between business communities in the two countries and investment potential in various sector including renewable energy, health services and infrastructure development, said the official, who did not wish to be named.
Both sides targeted $3 billion of bilateral trade volume within 2015, seeking possibilities to enhance trade and investment between the two countries, according to Xinhua.
The next Joint Trade and Investment Forum will be held in Chennai, said India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was in Myanmar in connection with the 5th meeting of the India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in Naypyitaw.
During the JTC meeting, both sides agreed to work together to remove the bottlenecks hampering the bilateral trade and investment such as lack of good connectivity, lack of banking arrangement both for regular and border trade, according to a statement from the Indian Embassy in Yangon.
India offered to support Myanmar to develop infrastructure at the border trade points, upgrade trade training institutes in Yangon, and also provide training to Myanmar officials on WTO and international trade related issues besides supporting subsidised direct shipping links between India and Myanmar to promote bilateral trade.
According to official figures, India’s investment in Myanmar stands at $508.43 million as of the end of December 2014.
