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India seen as ‘safer bet’ for supply chains: Ireland trade minister
Coveney acknowledged that the relationship with India had not been as “high a priority as it should have been” for Ireland
New Delhi: As countries and large multinationals look to reshape their supply chains amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, India is seen as a “safer bet” for reliance and predictability in crucial areas ranging from semiconductors to food security, Ireland’s trade minister Simon Coveney said on Thursday.
India’s voice is “listened to and heard” in the context of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Israel-Hamas war since it is perceived as a global superpower in terms of its economic and military heft and also from a diplomatic point of view, Coveney said in an exclusive interview.
Coveney, who previously served as the minister for defence and foreign affairs and is in India to drive bilateral relations, especially in trade and investments, as part of the annual St Patrick’s Day programme, said Ireland is a big supporter of efforts to finalise an India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement as it will give India access to one of the highest spending markets in the world.
“There’s probably more uncertainty now in terms of globalisation and international supply chains than at any time in my political lifetime...As a result of that, a lot of countries are perhaps viewing India through a different lens than five or 10 years ago,” he said.
“They see a large democracy here that is relatively stable, that has good relationships with most parts of the world. I think it’s seen as a safer bet in terms of reliance and predictability around future supply chains, whether that’s semiconductors or food security or a whole range of other trades,” Coveney said.
Geopolitical tensions have spiked because of the three-year-old war in Ukraine “driven and caused by Russian aggression” and the conflict in the Middle East that has resulted in “huge losses of civilians, women and children, in Gaza on the back of a horrific terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel”, Coveney said.
“Again, India’s voice is listened to and heard in the context of conflicts like that, and we have seen a lot of disruption in terms of supply chains as well as countries and large multinationals [looking] to maybe reshape their supply chains, anticipating potential future tension in terms of geopolitical relationships,” he said.
Coveney acknowledged that the relationship with India had not been as “high a priority as it should have been” for Ireland and pointed to the potential to grow two-way trade from the current level of €10 billion a year, including €7-€8 billion in services. In this context, he referred to the scope for enhancing collaboration in areas such as cyber-security, artificial intelligence, new payment platforms and the fintech industry. He also pointed to the growing presence of Indian majors such as Wipro, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services in Ireland and Dublin’s plans to increase its diplomatic footprint in India, including Mumbai and Bengaluru.
With 10,000 Indian students making their way to Ireland this year, the highest figure so far, Coveney said there is an opportunity for skilled Indian graduates to come and work for multinationals and Irish companies.
“Undoubtedly, you’re seeing Indian students coming to Ireland and studying technology-based courses now an awful lot more...Virtually all of our universities now would have an active programme to invite and manage quite large numbers of Indian students, which we think is a good thing because we see inward migration and diversity of workforce and student population in Ireland as complementing the reality that Ireland is probably the most globalised economy in the European Union today,” he said.
