The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is organizing the 18th International Engineering & Technology Fair (IETF 2009) from 23-26 February 2009 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru. The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) of the Republic of South Africa has accepted the invitation of "Partner Country" status for IETF 2009.
Mr. Gurpal Singh, Deputy Director General, CII and Jordine Omar, Counsellor – Economic, South African High Commission (New Delhi) addressed a press briefing here, today.
"Trade is still driven by commodities. There is a need to diversify exports. In order to sustain 7% growth, India's focus should be on manufacturing and India needs export markets for products and services. IETF 2009 will help in binging industries together so that they can showcase their products and services," said Mr Jordine Omar.
South Africa also participated as a Partner Country at the 2005 IETF when about 45 South African companies and institutions participated. Trade between the two countries has doubled in the three years since from US$ 3.1 billion in 2004-05 to US$ 6.2 billion in 2007-08.
"South Africa is known for minerals such as Iron ore, Manganese ore and diamonds. IETF 2009 will bring forth the brand of South Africa in the mining sector. Mining equipment, Mining technology, Automotive and Auto component are some of the sectors we see synergy. We cannot compete with India but we can collaborate. India can become a source of small vehicles because it is very competitive in manufacturing these. We are also on the lookout for skilled HR from India especially in the field of mining design and engineering design competencies," Mr Omar added.
Speaking about current opportunities in South Africa he said, "There are huge significant investments being made in upgrading infrastructure so that we can successfully host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This is a huge opportunity for Indian companies."
SA's Department of Trade and Industry has identified India as a natural trade partner and has adopted aggressive marketing initiatives to tap into the large and growing Indian market and also to seek Foreign Direct Investment from India. Participating in various exhibitions, conducting road shows, organizing investment conferences and seminars, organizing inward buying and investment missions are part of this strategy.
This year more than 60 South African companies will be a part of the exhibition occupying an area of 4,000 sq. metres. The forthcoming fair is structured as a comprehensive B2B event, segmented into well-defined relevant sections of the engineering & manufacturing industry. The focused business fairs at IETF 2009 are namely Energy & Environment, Safe 2009, Manufacturing 2009, 2nd Robo Expo 2009,Asean and IETF Global 2009. Japan will be the Guest Country at the 18th IETF.
Source: Machinist.in
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