In a strategic move to enhance regional cooperation between India and Europe in the fields of trade and economic development, Euro Asia Institute, Jamia Milia Islamia in association with Embassy of Italy, New Delhi organised a lecture titled ‘The Emergence of India as a Major Strategic and Economic Power: Europe’s Outlook’ at India International Centre in New Delhi on 25 April 2008. The lecture was the first in a series of three programmes on bilateral relations between India and Europe

Prof. Stefano Caldirola, Professor of Contemporary Asian History, University of Bergamo, Italy was the key speaker. The programme had Mr. Shashank, former Foreign Secretary of India, in the chair and Mr. Gabrelle Annis, First Secretary, Political & Consul, Embassy of Italy, New Delhi making a brief speech.

“We are lucky that Prof. Caldirola is here to give his viewpoint on India as an emerging economic power and increasing its cooperation with Europe” Shashank said.

“We are delighted to be part of this initiative that can help both sides bring broader understanding in the field of economic development”, said Gabrele Annis in his opening address.

The keynote speaker analysed the current scenario of Indian economy and the programme enhanced the prospects of bilateral ties between India and Europe.

Prof. Caldirola appreciated the joint efforts made by the Euro Asia Institute and Embassy of Italy. “India and Europe have a lot in common that can be exploited in economic development”, he said. Tracing the historical trade and economic relations between India and Europe, he pointed out that both sides had been in bilateral ties for a pretty long period.

Referring to the boom and depression phases in the Indian economy in different time periods, Prof. Caldirola pointed out that Indian economy was relatively stable and successful even before the economic reforms programme that started in 1991. “In the 1950s and 1960s, the Indian economy was providing hope with real protagonists such as Steel Authority of India still playing a great role in sustaining that development,” noted Prof. Caldirola.

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The speaker observed that in the 1970s and 1980s India’s economic development was a bit retarded. Draughts, famines, and starvation reigned in the country during that period and led to developing a negative impression about it, among the developed western countries, for example in Europe. Brushing away all these bad images about Indian economy, Prof. Caldirola stated that the impression has almost been erased from everybody’s mind. “Today, Europe or the world as a whole considers India as a promising partner for economic development. India is blessed with both rich human and land resources”, he added.

India’s economic expansion has entered a competent and critical phase. Not only global market gurus or economic analysts, even a layman Indian could easily sense India’s rise as a strategic centre in South East Asia. “When I first came to India a few decades ago, people thought that I’m a fool looking for business opportunities in a hopeless India. Today, people think I’m wise in planning business in the emerging India,” said Prof. Caldirola.

‘Chindia’ Factor

Analysing the prospects of China-India economic cooperation, Prof. Caldirola put forward the idea of ‘Chindia’, where the two neighbouring giants can help themselves in developing ties and among the comity of nations. According to him, issues from the past history, present reality and anxiety of what future may hold can make this concept of ‘Chindia’ an impractical entity. Referring to the research findings done by Indian and European economic experts over the last few years, Prof. Caldirola expressed the view that geopolitical factors will render the two countries into ‘Chindia’ unwieldy.

FDI from EU

Prof. Caldirola traced India’s economic linkage with the European Union (EU) in great detail. He figured out the trade between the EU and India that became double during the last four years. Caldirola underlined the fact that India’s FDI from the EU has crossed US$325 billion in year 2007, with a growth rate of 56 percent against the figure in 2006. “It is impressive to note that the EU accounts for 42 percent of whole FDI of India”, said Prof. Caldirola.

Europe is reaching out to India as never before in many Indian economic sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, industry, garments etc to grab the full growth potential. “Before joining the EU, some European countries like Poland, Czech, and Slovakia had presence of Indian companies in their markets” said Prof. Caldirola adding, “The 5th EU-India Summit held at Hague in 2004 initiated the ‘strategic partnership.’’

Protection of Intellectual Property

Obviously the democratic norm of Indian society is widely appreciated by foreign investors. In terms of the protection of intellectual property, India has better credentials than China. “Europe is looking forward to launch new JVs with India because Indian intellectual property is secure. This is really a good prospect for European businessmen”, affirmed Prof. Caldirola.

Stressing on the general view about cheap Indian labour, Prof. Caldirola explained that Indian labourers are not only cheap but they are skilful too. In the 1990s, European entrepreneurs began to move into India. This phase, he called, ‘changing attitude of European businessmen to India.’

European Media

According to Prof. Caldirola, a decade ago, India’s presence in European media was meagre. “I remember a few major events like assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Babri Masjid demolition way back in 1992 being covered by Italian media” recalled Prof. Caldirola. “Otherwise, no media covered even the Indian general elections properly,” he added.

Elaborating how the changes in European media took place, Prof. Caldirola said “It was after the shifting of India-Europe relations from ‘culture and society’ to ‘economic and politics’ the focus of European media to India broadened. He added that the changing scenario of European media towards the coverage of Indian events has been an important turning point. “It gives positive impact on European entrepreneurs who are looking for businesses in India”, he reasoned.

UN Reforms

Talking about the demand for reforms and expansion of the UN Security Council, Prof. Caldirola stated that some European countries were looking forwards to the inclusion of India in the council. Mentioning the importance of joint efforts in the realm of world peace, he stressed on securing stability in Afghanistan and re-launching of Israel-Palestinian talks.

India’s role in bilateral development programmes in Africa is significant. “With India having entered many agreements with most of the African countries, its role is very remarkable in developing Africa”, said Prof. Caldirola. In response to questions from the audience regarding the possible list of negative points on India-Europe relations, Shashank said dealing with such big countries like India or China would surely result in some negative points. But he quipped, “Prof. Caldirola’s testimony as a scholar will be very useful to all of us and they include businesses and entrepreneurs.”