Expressing confidence about growth potential in Indian economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the country may be among the top three largest economies in the world over the period of next 25 years as it had already shown its capacity to grow even in adverse conditions. He also said that India stood as an exception in a world where most countries had started to increasingly look inwards.
The minister has stated that the growth story of Asean countries was quite similar to the Indian story as growth eluded both these regions when the Western world was growing at a fast pace. He also pointed out that when the Western world was growing faster, when the industrial revolution was paying dividends to that part of the world, these were the countries which were still struggling. He noted that Indian economic growth and development was somewhat a latter prospect. Adding further, he said that Indian story was also somewhat similar as from a very modest growth rate in the previous 25 years, the country had picked up and had now reached a point where it had become one of the fastest growing economies.
Jaitley further said that trade with Asean countries was of great importance to India as Look East Policy was one of the essential pillars of Indian foreign policy. He also noted that India and the Asean nations represent an aspirational world and this aspirational world is what houses two billion people and trade has the capacity to give that necessary impetus to the economy. He also believed that expanding the trade relations between Asean countries and India would lead to mutual benefits for both regions.