India must open its markets, ICC President says
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| India must open its markets for economy to grow |
New Delhi, October 29, 2001 - ICC President, Richard D. McCormick, will use a speech to the 71st Annual General Meeting of ICC India to urge the nation to open its markets to further competition and strive for a successful outcome at next week's WTO meeting in Doha, Qatar.
"Without a successful WTO meeting, without a new round of world trade negotiations, the developing countries' plight will worsen," McCormick says in a speech to be made available to reporters. "If you want your economy and your business to grow you have to make some choices that will be difficult in the short term but vital to your future."
McCormick is expected to tell his audience of some 80 Indian business leaders that growth in the Indian economy - and a better life for India's vast population - is dependent on the breaking down of trade barriers.
"We all have to open more doors to trade," he says. "Remove more barriers, accept more competition, change our tax and tariff structures and make the relationship between government and business more productive.
"We have to put new, international trading relationships ahead of selfish, short- term, national concerns. The antidote for our ailing world economy is growth.
And the best available stimulant for growth is freer world trade and investment."
McCormick's speech comes one week before trade ministers from all over the world converge on the 4th WTO Ministerial in Doha, Qatar.
ICC - the International Chamber of Commerce - is the world business organisation. With more than 8000 member companies in over 140 countries, it is the world's biggest and most representative private sector organization.
To mark the occasion of the WTO meeting in Qatar, ICC will be releasing a World Business Poll on Qatar. The poll, jointly conducted by ICC and Ifo, the respected German economics institute, will assess the repercussions to world business of a failed outcome in Qatar.
For further information, contact ICC Director of Communications, Bryce Corbett in Paris (Tel: +33
6 20 47 32 52) or visit the ICC website, www.iccwbo.org
International Chamber of Commerce