Over 400 firms to participate in Commonwealth SME trade summit

New Delhi: As many as 300 Indian firms and over 100 businesses from the Commonwealth will participate in the two-day India-Commonwealth Small and Medium Enterprises trade summit here.

The summit, which will start from May 30, aims at enhancing trade and investment partnerships among the member countries.

The Commonwealth has some of the fastest growing countries in the world but the intra-Commonwealth trade is low, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary General Deodat Maharaj said in a statement.

"This is where the summit could help," he said.

Commonwealth Secretariat's head of trade competitiveness, Rashmi Banga said the summit will bring together policymakers and business leaders to identify existing trade and investment opportunities.

Among the topics to be discussed are Brexit, deepening intra-Commonwealth trade, trade facilitation in services and cross-border e-commerce.

"It will be an ideal opportunity for them to discuss ways to harness the huge untapped potential as well as common interests and concerns on topical trade issues," she said.

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 52 countries including India, Canada and Pakistan. It is home to 2.4 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries.