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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Dec. 16

INDIA and the Czech Republic have called for stepping up bilateral trade, as the current level of trade between the two countries does not reflect the existing potential.

Mr S.N. Menon, Commerce Secretary, was addressing the Joint Inaugural Session of the two-day Sixth Indo-Czech Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Fourth Joint Business Council (JBC), organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) here on Thursday. He said, "There was scope for further increase in trade for a variety of items and both the countries had the capabilities to diversify the bilateral trade basket to include niche products."

"Sectors such as engineering, information technology, packaging, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food processing industries, bio-technology, science and technology offer opportunities for flow of both trade and investment," he said.

On some of the measures in the offing to boost exports, Mr Menon said that a new enabling legislation to provide stability to investments in special economic zones (SEZs) is on the anvil. This will provide for foreign direct investment up to 100 per cent in the development and establishment of the zones and their infrastructural facilities, he stated.

Mr Miroslav Somol, Czech Vice-Minister of Industry and Trade, said Indo-Czech trade is poised to touch the magic figure of $300 million by the end of the current financial year. He said that after the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union, the average duty on industrial products had come down from 4.8 per cent to 3.6 per cent and on agricultural items from 18.7 per cent to 16.2 per cent. The tariff for imports from India remained unchanged.

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