El-Salvador to Provide Near-Shoring Opportunities for Indian IT and Healthcare Companies

The inaugural session of the Third India, Latin America and Caribbean conference at Bangalore organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was truly global in every sense. The coming together of top industry honchos and government heads from India, Brazil and El Salvador provided a preview into the future of business relations between the two regions. Speaking about India as the land of opportunities, Ms. Ana Vilma Albanez De Escobar, Vice-President of El-Salvador said, "We would be happy to collaborate with India in niche fields such as healthcare, IT, transport, pharmaceuticals, etc." She said it was El Salvador's geographical proximity to the US that acted as an advantage for overseas trade opportunities and investments in IT and Healthcare. Commenting on the long relationship shared with India, Ms.Patricia Figueroa Rodriguez, Ambassador of El-Salvador to India said, "We have opened our embassy in India a year ago and have simplified the visa process. We look forward to having more of India in El-Salvador."

Mr.Roberto Paranhos Do Rio Branco, President, Brazil-India Chamber of Commerce said Brazil looked forward to more joint-ventures with India; "We want to participate in the Asian market and India is our door to it." Moderating the session was Mr.Madhur Bajaj, chairman, CII-LAC committee and Vice-Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd. Though he stated that emerging countries like India had suffered a less severe ripple effect of the global economic meltdown, it was clear that the industry has been psychologically impacted. Stating that India needed to diversify geographically and product-wise he said, "Brazil accounts for 44% of India's exports and this can grow." Bajaj also said that the countries of the world must come together to fight terrorism and poverty.