MR
Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, met the
Italian Foreign Minister, Mr. Franco Frattini, in Rome yesterday and
raised the issue of simplification of visa procedures for business leaders
and professionals. In a significant development, the Foreign Minister of Italy
assured Mr Sharma that major simplification will be made in the visa regime
for business, students & researchers and official/diplomatic passport
holders. He said that, in the new Schengen visa regime, flexibilities provided
for the national visa regime will be explored fully to see for long term multiple
entry visas for up to three years for these categories. He further said that
he will also explore the possibility of using the certification from Industry
Chambers from both the countries to certify the credentials for business visa.
In the bilateral meeting, Mr Sharma has informed that following the contraction
of bilateral trade in 2009 as a result of the global economic downturn, the
volume of trade has registered a healthy rebound, growing at over 25% during
the first three quarters of 2010. “This is a positive trend and we look forward
to working with the Italian side to build up on it. We could work towards a
target of doubling our bilateral trade to € 12 billion ($ 17.5 billion)
in the next five years”,
he added.
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