The year 2017 is perhaps when Goa begins to look at Portugal not just as a cultural link but as a potential business and economic partner. In the past weeks there have been a number of occasions when discussions on ties between the former colonial power and the former colony centred around business, rather than nostalgic ramblings of a saudade not yet forgotten.
To start with there was the inauguration of the Goa desk of the Portugal India Business hub that aims to ‘promote and support the development of business’ between India, Portugal and their overseas communities. The hub, aspires to become the channel that will lead to greater economic partnerships between the two countries. What it will do is bring entrepreneurs and business houses from both countries on the same platform. The second was what two Indian ambassadors to Portugal – one current and the other former – had to say about India-Portugal ties and the possibilities in developing relationship between the two countries.
K Nandini Singla, the Indian ambassador to Portugal, who was in Goa, said that a year ago when she went to Portugal to take up her assignment as ambassador she saw the relationships between the two countries were ‘pretty happy’ but ‘business was not doing well’ and it amounted to only $ 700 million. The interesting question she posed to herself was, ‘if more than 500 years ago Vasco da Gama sailed for more than 10 months in un-chartered territory and waters to establish trade with India then why were the Portuguese businessmen not taking the 10-hour flight and come to the world’s fastest growing major economy?’ The answer: lack of a platform, and the PIB hub is, she hopes, what will fill the gap.
It’s a valid question and one that perhaps needs to be addressed urgently, if the economic ties between the two countries are to grow. Portugal, which is recovering from an economic crisis, needs an infusion of capital and creation of jobs, and India that is looking to global partners for its economic growth could find business opportunities in the Iberian country, a situation that would work to the benefit of both countries.
The other question that arises, and which was discussed by the former ambassador of India to Portugal, Jitendra Nath Misra, in a talk he delivered at Goa University, is how Goa can be the bridge between India and Portugal, but that it needs a more focused engagement that transcends Goa to the whole of India to achieve this. As he pointed out, the economic ties between the two countries have been ‘underwhelming’ with India’s trade with the eight Lusophone countries being just two per cent of its global trade. Yet, when one looks back at history, as did Nath in his talk and pointed out that the ‘India-Portugal bilateral interaction is one of the oldest in the world – spanning half a millennium’.
The discovery of the sea route to India bridged the gap between the East and the West, transforming international relations and economic and cultural exchanges. But in current times, the economic ties between the two countries do not match those of half a millennia ago.
A fillip to the trade ties were the visits by the Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, to India and the return visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Portugal, a rare occurrence for two Prime Ministers to visit each other’s countries in the same year. The Prime Ministerial visits ended up in 12 agreements being signed between the two countries, five of which were in the field of business. So the focus now has to be in taking it forward.
China today has a number of institutes teaching Portuguese and while China has been able to leverage the Macau connection with Portugal to increase its presence in that country, India has to look at finding the path to make Goa as the bridge to Portugal and Europe. But, while Goa can be a bridge between the two countries, the focus has to shift to the larger perspective of India and Portugal, rather than just Goa and Portugal. With Portugal a member of the European Union, India as a fast growing economy stands to gain a lot if it strengthens ties with Portugal, not just economic ties but also political ties.
As Nath pointed out, Portugal is one country that has been consistently supporting India’s aspiration to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and it is also the only European country to have extradited a person facing terrorism charges in India. “Yet, the relationship awaits a ‘big bang’ moment,” says Nath, and that will probably come only through sustained diplomatic efforts and political ties.
But while, India looks forward to making Portugal a strategic political and economic partner, Goa also needs to benefit in some manner from the strengthened ties.
It is ironic that today, though Goa is being seen as a hub for Portuguese learning in the country, there are few jobs that require the Portuguese language in Goa. Goa University has a number of students in the Portuguese department who come from outside the State to study the language here, but the job opportunities in the Portuguese language are available in Delhi and the NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai, not in Goa.
A search on the Internet for jobs requiring knowledge of Portuguese in India will throw up a large choice, but not a single one of these will be in this State, leading to the question of why aren’t the BPOs that need staff with the knowledge in Portuguese setting up base in Goa? It is definitely not because of a lack of expertise in the field, it could possibly be that the infrastructure that the State offers not adequate for the industry.
A bridge it can be, but Goa also needs to build upon this relationship to make some economic gains rather than only serving to connect the two countries awaiting their ‘big bang’ moment.
(Alexandre Moniz Barbosa is Executive Editor, Herald)
