The Danes are back, this time as friends and partners, vying for space in mutual maritime ventures and not as erstwhile lords and colonialists. The Danish Maritime Group is on a fact-finding mission in India,concerning the potential of shipfaring and shipbuilding Industry in India.
Mr Ulrik Dahl of the Danish Export Association said that their main objective was to find a place in India, and help to make it a global player. He added, “ China, South Korea, and Japan, contribute to over 80 per cent of the ships manufactured, albeit in various names, today we wish to identify India as a potentially huge market for the manufacturing section, with a large working force of engineers at it’s disposal.”
Earlier, the Indian delegates at the meet stressed on the need for development of trained skilled personnel at the ITI level, and also noted the importance of forging partnerships.
Mr K.K. Sinha of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, said that 50 per cent of the global economic growth is due to countries like Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, China and India. He said that the VPT, in spite of geographical constraints , ranks as the second largest major port in India and wished to develop as a major player in South East Asia..
Mr Dahl further added “Though we are starting small and looking for outlets as of now as far as the shipping industry is concerned, the next step would be to get involved in partnership with local players.” He said that India had the advantage of having a bigger work force at its disposal than any other country in the world. More than 11 companies took part in the meet.