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NATIONAL
ACTIVITY
Mr Kejriwal, thanked the delegates
for making time to be present, particularly when, owing
to certain tensions in the region, a number of countries
had postponed their visit. In his address, he spoke
of the MoU with Auto Parts Manufacturers Association
(APMA) who, in conjunction with the Canadian Government
and C-IBC, organised this visit. He, also, spoke of
the two delegations taken to Canada, by ACMA, in the
hope of "exciting" the Canadian auto industry into visiting
India. ACMA had, indeed, succeeded!
The Fabric of Business
with the Weft of Lighter Moments!
a) Air force fighter planes zipped over Pragati
during the course of the meeting and all discussions
came to a halt owing to the noise factor. Alarm,
was written so large on the faces of the Delegates
that the Hosts could not but smile broadly and
explain that this was not an attack but a practice
flight by the Indian Air force for the Republic
Day Parade!
b) It was very interesting to note a mention made
by Mr Jans that Thomas Bata, of Bata shoe fame,
actually helped the Business Council get off the
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SEMINAR ON ASEAN & CHINA : 19
JANUARY 2002, NEW DELHI
The Seminar on ASEAN & China, conducted during the
AUTO EXPO week was held in the conference hall of the
Taj Mahal Hotel.
Mr. K Kejriwal,
President ACMA, welcoming participants, thanked
the Chief Guest, Mr Shashank, Secretary-Economic Relations,
Ministry of External Affairs, for joining the programme
and agreeing to inaugurate the Seminar at such short
notice.
A warm welcome was extended to the guest speakers:
a) Mr. Noordin Azhari, Asst. Director, Industrial Cooperation,
ASEAN Secretariat, spoke on:
"ASEAN Industrial Co-operative Scheme - Its Features
& Impact on the Automotive Industry."
b) Mr. Wang Xia, Secretary General, CCPIT
& Deputy Secretary General, CAAM, spoke on:
WTO & its Implications on the Chinese Automotive
Industry: Possible Co-operation & Opportunities
between China and India"
c) Dr Wayne W J Xing, Editor / Publisher,
China Business Update, spoke on:
"Automotive Industry China Current Status
and Future Trends"
Mr Kavan Mukhtyar, Frost & Sullivan
(India) & Director & Head, Asian Automotive
Practice, spoke on:
"ASEAN Automotive Components & Vehicle Industry
An Overview on Country Markets"
Following are some points taken from
Mr Kejriwal's welcome address:
- Imperative that countries entering the quickly
changing global scenario create linkages with each
other
- Free of trade barriers, legendary trade missionaries,
Fa Hien and Marco Polo, travelled and established
close trading links with countries across the globe
- the Silk and Grand Trunk Routes, were reminders
of the extent of freedom the world exercised. Current
trade barriers, standing guard, were a post World
War II phenomena
- Time circle was well on its way to completing
the revolution. A re-emergence of a barrier-free
trade regime, in most parts of the world (with GATT
and WTO initiatives) was a credible thought. Different
approaches for liberalisation in tune with the business
climate had been adopted by Countries:
* Europe - EU and now the common currency, Euro
* North America - NAFTA & South America - MERCOSUR
* South & Southeast Asia - SAARC &
ASEAN
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