Kyambadde wants digital services for strengthening Uganda-India bilateral trade
India has been a leader in advancing measures that support innovation, inclusion and investment, noted Borge Brende, President, World Economic Forum, at the CII-organized India Services Conclave 2021 held 23-24 March 2021.
“There is a clear reason (that) India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world as the Government has made commitments to advance innovation,” said Brende, adding that the theme “India: Future of Digital Services to the World” is more relevant than ever.
He further pointed out that artificial intelligence is projected to increase global GDP by 15% in this decade and 5G is expected to generate US$13 trillion in global economic value and create 20 million jobs by 2035.
“Studies show in the early days of the pandemic, the world leaped ahead in the digital uptake of 5 years in 2 months,” he said at the conclave on 23 Mar 2021.
Also addressing the conference, the Ugandan Trade, Industry and Cooperative Minister Amelia Kyambadde reiterated the need to strengthen Uganda-India bilateral trade, more particularly in digital services, IT enabled services, oil and gas, power generation, transport and connectivity infra, medical and pharma, property, finance, hospitality and tourism.
Uganda has been beneficiaries for 55 years of the India trade and investment for Africa program, she added. India is one the major sources of import machinery, vehicles, plastic and chemical products and so forth for Uganda.
The COVID-19 induced pandemic has brought the services sector at the centre and India’s march towards US$5 trillion economy is going to be on the back of the services sector, believes Shobana Kamineni, Past President, CII Chairperson, CII National Council on Services and Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group.
“During the pandemic, telemedicine has really showed the power of digital, and what the future of digital healthcare would be. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to reset and understand what would be the new world’s need. The world moving to 5G and the collaboration between the government and private sector will be very important,” said Kamineni.
The increased use of online services and the demand for such services is going up, observed CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee.
“Reviving services trade would be critical in the economic recovery. India has the potential to build its own brand of services for exports, with digital and digitization being the heart of the services sector,” he told the conclave. #digital #innovation #technology #markets #exports /fiinews.com
