India wants Korean firms to invest in its infrastructure: president

SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- Indian President Pratibha Patil said Tuesday that Asia's third-largest economy is planning to heavily invest in improving its infrastructure, a great investment opportunity for South Korean firms.
"India attaches great importance to improving its infrastructure, for which about US$1 trillion will be required in the coming years," Patil said in a meeting with businesses here.
"This provides a great investment opportunity for foreign companies, including those from Korea. We look forward to greater participation in this endeavor by Korean companies."
Patil arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a four-day state visit that also includes a visit to a bronze bust of the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore that the two countries erected recently in central Seoul to mark the 150th anniversary of the late poet's birth.
Patil said the two countries will upgrade their free trade pact, known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), that was implemented in January last year, in order to further boost bilateral trade.
"Our bilateral trade rose by 40 percent last year, and by current projections is slated to reach $21 billion during the current calendar year, and comfortably reach the level of $30 billion by 2014," Patil said adding that expert level discussion will commence from late September this year to upgrade the CEPA.
South Korea exported goods worth $11.4 billion to India last year, up 43 percent from a year earlier. Seoul's imports of Indian goods jumped 37 percent to $5.7 billion over the cited period, according to Seoul's trade ministry.
Overall, the CEPA is expected to boost bilateral trade by as much as $3.3 billion annually, according to estimates by the state-run Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).
sam@yna.co.kr