Check degradation of environment: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, AUG. 12. In the third of the major international business conclaves to be held in the City in the last one year, representatives of trade and industry from 24 countries are attending the Asia Pacific Enterprise Summit 2001, which opened here on Sunday.

The Vice-President, Mr. Krishan Kant, inaugurated the three-day Summit.

Last year, the City hosted the Global Investors' meet. In the early part of this year, the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B.Vajpayee, inaugurated an international meet of business and industry.

Delivering the keynote address to the Summit, the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, eschewed the temptation to invite foreign direct investment to the State. Instead, he dwelt at length on the theme that apart from promotion of trade and industry, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region had to take measures to check degradation of the environment and the problems of urbanisation they were facing.

Industry needed to cooperate with the government in those areas. Trade and industry in the region owed an explanation to posterity in the matter of damage to ecology. The Chief Minister noted that the Asia-Pacific region was blessed with vast natural resources and biological diversity -- forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands etc. It was home to 50 per cent of the world's rain forests and 70 per cent of wetlands. Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and China were among the countries which could boast of vast natural wealth.

Mr. Krishna stressed the need for development of agriculture and its transformation along with industrial and economic growth. He reminded the participants that investment was not limited to production facilities or in large firms. They should face up to the challenge of degradation of the environment.

It was left to the Minister for Large and Medium Industries, Mr. R.V.Deshpande, to talk of attracting investment to the State. Describing Karnataka as a ``happening State'' and Bangalore a ``happening city,'' he said the State's new industrial policy was a unique one aimed at attracting investment. Karnataka was the first State to take up deregulation of trade. Mr. Deshpande said that the economic slowdown in the U.S. should help the Asia- Pacific countries to take advantage of the situation.

The Governor, Ms. V.S.Rama Devi, said that the State Government had adopted a proactive policy towards trade and industry. The IT parks set up in Bangalore were known for their excellence.

The President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Chirayu Amin, said that Indian trade delegations would be visiting Singapore and Australia in the next few months. He referred to the emphasis being laid in the country on industries and enterprises such as IT, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure development and healthcare.

Mr. T.C.Venkatasubramanian, Managing Director, Exim Bank of India, said that the region had 67 per cent of the world's poor. It accounted for 12.5 per cent of world exports and 28 per cent of imports.

Mr. Nitin B.Doshi, President, Asia Pacific Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Singapore, spoke of the emergence of business clusters among India and countries of the region.

Mr. K.Ramaswamy, President of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that it was an honour that the Summit was being held here. He was confident that the Summit would result in improved economic relations in the region.

Mr. A.S.Kasliwal, Vice-President, Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Taiwan, and Dr. Boecker Wolf Hermann, Vice-Secretary General, German Confederation of Small Business and Skilled Crafts, spoke.

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