JOIN USAdmitting that infrastructure deficit was rampant in India, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday saw great opportunity for ASEAN nations to invest in the country and invited them to infrastructure and services sector.
"We in India offer great opportunities in terms of large infrastructure investment that we need. There is an infrastructure deficit here. We want India's domestic manufacturing to grow. In services sector we offer a great potential in terms of investment," Jaitley said at the ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet here.
"The confidence of new India is that it is getting globally integrated and this opening out in terms of trade, investment has certainly brought not only additionality of resources, but significantly improved upon India's own competitive strengths," he said, adding the best of the relationship between Association of South East Asian Nations is expected to emerge in the next two-three decades.
He said ASEAN and India represent the region where mutual investments bring mutual benefit to each other.
The 10 ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam.
India's exports to ASEAN increased to about $31 billion in 2016-17 from $25.15 billion in 2015-16.