Trade as catalyst for India’s development

Growth prospects for India and the rest of South Asia are dimming. The global economic environment has become more challenging and is a source of heightened downside risks. Like other South Asian economies, India has limited exposure to geopolitical shocks as it is among the quarter of EMDEs that are least open to global trade and investment.

However, South Asian countries’ lack of openness is not only protective. It also limits their ability to take advantage of the reshaping of global supply chains and trade. Although they maintain fairly diverse trade and investment ties, they would benefit from further opening to global trade and investment, improvements in infrastructure and logistics, and greater institutional effectiveness.

Cultivating diversified trading partners and creditors across the geopolitical spectrum could help South Asian countries like India mitigate vulnerabilities in a more open and dynamic economy.

In this webinar, held on 14 May 2025 at 2:30 PM, keynote speaker Franziska Lieselotte Ohnsorge and Partha Sen discussed these issues in depth, with Sergio Lugaresi moderating. You can watch the video of the conference above.