Kolkata [India] November 24, (ANI): Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday highlighted that the Indian economy has returned to the high growth path and India's GDP grew by over 20% in the first quarter of 2021-22.

The Foreign Secretary said this in his address at the Annual Session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce held in Kolkata titled 'Bharat@75: Empowering India: Today for Tomorrow'.

Shringla emphasized India's economic growth trajectory despite challenging times.

"That India would have a role in world affairs would have been little more than an aspiration at the time this Chamber was founded. India was still a subject nation and independence, a distant dream. Independence, the trauma of Partition, and the struggles of emerging nationhood were in the future," the Foreign Secretary said"That India would have a role in world affairs would have been little more than an aspiration at the time this Chamber was founded. India was still a subject nation and independence, a distant dream. Independence, the trauma of Partition, and the struggles of emerging nationhood were in the future," he added.

The Foreign Secretary emphasized that the post-pandemic economy that will differ significantly from the present one.

"These economic shifts are taking place in the midst of what has been described as "rebalancing." Very high growth rates in Asian countries, including India, have moved the centre of economic gravity of the world towards Asia, " the foreign secretary said.

"This has geopolitical and geoeconomic consequences. The Indo-Pacific region, which extends from the shores of America to the east coast of Africa, and includes the Indian Ocean region, is now a major focus of global attention. It generates almost 60 % of the world's economic output. It also contributes 70% of global economic growth,"The Foreign Secretary also highlighted India's expanding role in the Indo-Pacific including its role as a net security provider in the region. (ANI)