CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) Business Conclave

• Fourth edition of India – CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) Business Conclave was held in Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan.
• This conference was organised by Department of Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) held deliberations on manufacturing, renewable energy, agriculture and skilling among others sectors in the region.

Analysis:

• Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam collectively, is the third largest economy in ASEAN, followed by Indonesia and Thailand. 
• Due to close proximity, India is looking to boost trade and investment with the CLMV region as part of the ‘Act East’ policy announced by India in 2013.
• The CLMV conclave is an annual feature which provides an opportunity for Indian business leaders to interact with government and business stakeholders representing the four countries.
• The conclave facilitates to create and provide a platform for the decision makers from CLMV countries to interact with a range of Indian business companies involved in trading, manufacturing, processing, engineering, consultancy, construction etc.
• India’s trade with the CLMV countries is over 11,000 million USD and there is immense potential.
• The tri-lateral highway, connectivity in the North East, port connectivity improvement and the Act East policy are moves in that direction. The External Affairs study proves that there’s a huge potential of about 100billion USD dollars of additional export.
• The trade investment between India and the ASEAN countries is crucial since the CLMV countries cover 32% of the ASEAN region and has a huge market for Indian products and with a 165 million strong population.
• This will attract considerable amount of FDI from India. It has an open investment regime and does not discriminate between foreign and local investors. It is investing heavily into its transport infrastructure.
   

By: Vishal