New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS): India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have huge opportunities for cooperation, especially in the MSME sector, and Asean companies can increase their investments in India in areas like medical devices, fishing and ship-building, the government said on Friday.

In his address at the fourth India-Asean Expo and Summit here, Minister of State for Commerce C.R. Chaudhary said that in order to boost India-Asean economic cooperation, companies from India and the Asean can form joint ventures to start manufacturing in India.

"I would like to request the Asean companies to enhance the increasing cooperation in the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector," Chaudhary said.

"We can increase investments in various sectors like airlines, fishing and ship building. We need medical devices and apparatus, and Asean companies can get an opportunity in this area."

Noting that boosting bilateral trade and investment is critical for both regions, the Minister pointed out that India has relaxed several laws and regulations to attract investments, which has also resulted in record foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in recent years.

Chaudhary also said that although India-Asean bilateral trade has increased to $82.33 billion in the last fiscal, from $21 billion in 2005-06, the pace of growth has not been "up to the mark".