India to become global powerhouse: Kamal Nath

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has said that the ASEAN plus Chindia (China and India) will become a global powerhouse to be reckoned with, united in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Participating in a Roundtable Discussion at the East Asia Summit of the World Economic Forum in Tokyo on Thursday on 'ASEAN's Strategic Challenge: How will it compete with Chindia,' he underlined that ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) does not face a threat or a strategic challenge vis-à-vis India and China.

The issue at hand is not ASEAN versus Chindia, but ASEAN plus Chindia. Given the strengths of ASEAN and the growing muscle of India and China, the scope for constructive cooperation is immense, he said.

"We believe this is the direction the region should take," he said. This would be logical in view of their natural complementarities, since ASEAN had an abundance of natural resources as also significant technological skills, which provided a natural base for the growth of synergies and integration between ASEAN, China and India in both trade and investment.

"We strongly believe the future of Asia lies in ASEAN plus Chindia. Competing for the world's investment resources individually will certainly bring gains to each country. Competing for them as a regional powerhouse will widen and deepen the advantages of globalisation that will truly make the region what management gurus call 'The Next Big Thing,'" he said.

Pointing out that a pragmatic search for reciprocal self-interest had, in fact, been the fulcrum of India's 'Look East' policy, Kamal Nath said India has already concluded a comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) with Singapore and is close to finalising a similar Agreement with ASEAN and Thailand.

"Such agreements aim to leverage the rich reservoir of talent and resources of the region to pull our economies out of poverty and build a new Asia," he said.