World Economic Forum President Borge Brende on Thursday said India is on track to become a US$10 trillion economy in the coming years and soon attain the third-largest position, describing the country as a place where there is optimism like nowhere else. Is seen. Polarized world. In an exclusive video interview with News Agency, Brende also said that the World Economic Forum (WEF) hopes to return to the country with the WEF India Summit in collaboration with the Indian government when the time comes.
“The Indian economy is the fastest growing among all the major economies of the world. We saw at Davos this year that there was huge interest in India and I think that will continue,” said Brende. The Geneva-based WEF, which describes itself as an international organization for public-private cooperation, holds its annual meeting every January in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos.
Brende said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “always very welcome in Davos”. “When you come to India, you feel some optimism which is not there in the whole world. We are facing a geopolitical recession, a very fragmented and polarized world, but there are still areas where we can cooperate and it is important to find those areas,” he said.
Brende said it is important to underline that economic growth is not so bad, especially in the case of India, where “we are seeing 7 percent economic growth and the world’s largest economy, the US, which is doing very well.” ” On India’s aim to become the third largest economy in the next 2-3 years, Brende said that India is on its way to becoming a US$ 10 trillion economy in the coming years. “India has gone through significant reforms and is in a good position compared to the two largest economies, the US and China. Also, India is seeing good growth in foreign direct investment, now a lot of manufacturing activities are happening in India which used to happen in other emerging economies,” he said.
He also appreciated India’s digital competitiveness and said that digital trade in the world today is growing much faster than traditional goods. “India is in a good position and it is only a matter of time that India will become the third largest economy in the world after the US and China,” he said.
On India’s role in dealing with geopolitical conflicts, Brende said, “We will see a bigger and bigger Indian footprint on the global diplomatic landscape in the coming years.” India’s key priorities so far have been to secure economic growth, eradicate poverty and ensure that India is thriving when it comes to prosperity. “I think India has also stayed away from any quick reaction on geopolitical issues. It is not an easy neighborhood in Asia, but India has dealt with the situations very well and we do not see any conflict in the region as we have seen in places like Ukraine and the Middle East,” he said.
Brende said India is an important country when it comes to digitalisation, with 1.4 billion people having digital IDs, linked bank accounts and effective payment systems. “At the same time, the advent of new technologies raises concerns. While there are huge opportunities presented by generative AI, there are also threats in the form of deepfakes and increased cyberattacks. Therefore, it is very important to be alert and make policies for the same.
For example, last year cybercrime stole US$2 trillion from the global economy, he said.