Ahmedabad: India has a strong foundation for economic growth and is expected to maintain robust growth momentum in the coming years despite global uncertainties, said Paul Procee, Operations Manager and Acting Country Director for India at the World Bank.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SAPLING High-Level Policy Dialogue co-hosted by the World Bank Group and the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Procee said India’s growth story remains supported by investments in people, businesses and expanding international partnerships.
“India has a very strong baseline growth and basically has a huge economy. And as long as we focus on what we doing here, which is basically focus on building businesses, India is creating very nice partnerships and trade agreements with bilateral partners. So India is really taking care of itself by investing in its people, investing in its businesses, and with that it will continue having a very strong base growth for the coming years,” he said.
When asked about India’s attractiveness as an investment destination amid global economic challenges, Procee said the country’s strength lies in creating a favourable business environment and supporting private sector growth.
“I think, again, India is a continent. I cannot specify one sector. It is really about creating a business environment where people can invest, where foreign investments, local investments will go into building the private sector,” he said.
He added that India’s large consumer base and growing network of trade agreements offer significant opportunities for investors.
“There’s a lot of, let’s say, potential as well with consumers in India. So India has everything. And as I said before, there’s a lot of free trade agreements that are coming up, bilateral agreements where India can profit a lot and where India will basically continue to grow strongly,” Procee said.
Highlighting opportunities in the food processing sector, the World Bank official described it as one of India’s most promising areas for future growth.
“Actually, it is one of the big manufacturing sectors. It already is one of the main exporting sectors within India,” he said.
Procee said the World Bank and the government would focus on strengthening value chains and improving market linkages for farmers.
“I see a humongous potential for growth in this sector. Because it is, at the end of the day, 60 per cent of the people still live in rural areas,” he said.
He also noted that developing food processing can create jobs and economic opportunities in rural India.
