An over-arching joint business council of the countries in the Indian Ocean region/Indian sub continent has been proposed to better take care of enterprise in the region.
This was one of the suggestions at a recent gathering of the region’s political and New Zealand business leaders at a luncheon in Auckland titled “Rebuilding the Indian Ocean Region”.
Keynote speaker at the luncheon address, organized by the International College of Auckland (ICA), was former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe, who emphasized the changing global economic activity and how countries in the Indian Ocean region could provide mutual benefit to each other.
ICA principal James Zhu welcomed guests to the luncheon also attended by keynote guests Bhav Dhillon, managing director of Cemix Ltd based in Auckland.
“The rising populations and the rising incomes of the Indian Ocean Region will put in place the building blocks for intra-regional trade development,” said Mr Wickremsinghe, the current Sri lankan Leader of the Opposition.
“With doubling of population there will be more mouths to feed. As incomes increase the people will also move up the food chain creating a bigger demand. Feeding an additional 1.8 billion people, over half of them from South and South East Asia is both a challenge and an opportunity,” Mr Wickremsinghe said.
“The excess land to feed the additional mouths is available in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan and Madagascar.
“The low cost global producers such as Thailand, Australia can help Africa’s commercial cultivation of crops, and the breeding of animals. Furthermore, manufacturing inputs such as fertilizer as well as value addition to these agricultural products will help to increase Africa’s jobs and income,” Mr Wickremsinghe said.
“The logistics of bringing the food to the retailers in Asia will also result in the development of ports and shipping.
“Therefore, combining the hungry mouths of Asia with the empty lands of Eastern Africa’s Savanna zone, bringing together the investments and technology globally will be a win-win for all starting from the subsistence of small holders of Africa.”
Mr Wickremsinghe sadid the emerging Indian Ocean regional economy would not be based on the hub US and spokes model of the APEC.
“While US is the hub, India, which is the lead economy, will also be the third largest by 2050 it will not have the dominance that US enjoys. India has the advantage of the diaspora in some of these countries.
“The Tamils in Singapore and Malaysia, Mumbai trading links with the Gulf, and the millions of Indian migrant workers in the Middle East, eat and South Africa also has influential Indian community consisting mainly of Gujaratis, whether Hindus, Jains or the minority Muslim sects of Borahs and Ismailis.
“Eighty per cent of Mauritians are of Indian descent. This network helps Indian investments and trade in the region. There are also other major players in the region such as Malaysia, Singapore, Middle East Oil States, Australia, China, Japan, US and the EU.
“This will enable India to take the lead in co-ordinating the development of intra-regional trade. It has to persuade the heads of Government of the region to buy in to a new mechanism for economic co-operation. IOR-RA certainly does not fit this bill,” Mr Wickremsinghe said.
“If it is to succeed, India has to address two issues. Firstly, the status of China in the Indian Ocean. With the establishment Gwadar and another port in Myanmar it can and will claim a statute similar to the landlocked countries of Nepal and Afghanistan.
“Secondly, the establishing of a special vehicle to provide long term development finance for the regional enterprise development. Today the World Bank and ADB focuses mainly on poverty.”
Wenceslaus Anthony, chairman of the advisory board of the IAC and chair of the India-NZ Business Council, lauded the initiatives proposed by the speakers.
“As a dynamic young politician, Mr Wickremesinghe initiated radical educational reforms in the 1980s aimed at the qualitative improvement of school education with a special focus on English, Technology and Computer.
“He also restructured the Education Administrative Service and energised the youth services in Sri Lanka with extensive motivational and skill development programmmes.
“Later on, as the Minister of Industries, Science and Technology, he was responsible for Sri Lanka’s second round of economic liberalisation that commenced in 1989 with the focus on financial de-regularization and industrial promotion in rural areas through infrastructure development and the institution of industrial estates,” Mr Anthony said.
“By then a seasoned legislator, Mr Wickremesinghe was appointed the Leader of the House, and then Prime Minister in 1993.
The man behind the whole function, James Zhu, principal of the International College, presented distinguished guests with mementos.