World cannot ignore India and China any more: Anil Ambani

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 2 (PTI): World, in particular the
developed world in the West, can no longer afford to ignore
India and China at least in terms of their economic power,
Indian Businessman and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG)
chief Anil Ambani has said.
Achieving a growth of 8-9 per cent per annum at a
sustained pace on a long-term basis is a real possibility,
Ambani said at a panel discussion on "The Shifting Global
Economy and Implications for Trade" being held on the
sidelines of the annual conference of the US Exim Bank here.
Achieving such a growth rate -- a reality in India and
China -- is "impossible" in the United States and other
developed countries of the world, Ambani said. At the same
time, he said there are challenges which India has to address
on a priority basis.
There is need of creating infrastructure,
intellectual, physical and social, which would be the prime
movers of India's growth.
Ambani said there is great opportunity for US
companies to India. With nearly 100,000 Indian students coming
to the US every year, Ambani said, in the years to come, a
large number of Indians would think and live like Americans.
"Indian savings would go down and credit card economy
would boom," he said, adding, in a globalised economy, Asia,
in particular countries such as India and China are huge
business opportunities to US companies.
Arvind Subramanian, senior fellow, Peterson Institute
for International Economics, agreed and said the world can no
longer ignore India and China, which by 2030 would be among
the top three largest economies of the world.
"China is already the biggest economy, trader and net
banker in the world. It's a world where the US can no longer
take its economic preeminence for granted," Subramanian
argued.
Ambani praised the Chinese effort of increasing its
business and economic relationship with India. India, he said,
is the largest trading partner of China, a place, which was
earlier occupied by the US.
India is a young country as compared to China. In less
than a decade from now, more than half a billion people would
be less than 30 years of age, he said.
On Thursday Ambani met the US Commerce Secretary, Gary
Locke, during which they discussed the new momentum in
economic relationship of the two countries, following the
November visit of the US President Barack Obama to India.
Locke and Ambani expressed their desire to work
together to accelerate the development of the bilateral
relationship, sources told PTI.
It is believed that during the meeting Locke spoke to
the momentum of the US-India economic relationship coming off
of Obama's historic visit to India last November.
Both expressed desire to work together to accelerate
the development of the bilateral relationship, sources said.