Commerce Minister Addresses the Special Plenary with the
Indo-Pacific Region Trade Ministers
Goyal says India endorses the concept of working
towards ensuring a transparent, trustworthy, dependable & reliable supply chain;
Minister
says India’s track record should give confidence to our friends that it will be
their natural & most reliable ally in years to come
Minister of Commerce & Industry, Railways, Consumer
Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal on 7 July 2021 invited the business community in the Indo-Pacific
region to actively take part in efforts for bolstering development, trade and growth
in the region. Delivering the keynote address at the CII’s Special Plenary with
the Trade Ministers in the Indo-Pacific region on the subject “Developing a Road
Map for Shared Prosperity”, he said that India’s track record should give confidence
to our friends that it will be their natural & most reliable ally in years to
come..
Mr. Goyal said that when
we talk of shared prosperity we must remember that “Shared prosperity is impossible
without shared commitment”. He said that
it is a commitment which entails sharing challenges as well as opportunities and
risks as well as rewards.
He
said that amidst all the suffering caused by the pandemic, there is a silver lining
– a growing spirit of brotherhood among nations to help each other. He said that
this spirit of brotherhood, more than anything else, has laid a robust foundation
on which we have a chance to build promising partnerships.
Describing
Indo-Pacific region as the new economic centre of gravity
of the globalised world, Mr. Goyal
said that Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, in 2015, had articulated his vision
for the Indo-Pacific in one word ‘SAGAR’ i.e Security
And Growth of All in the Region. He said that it must serve
as the guiding principle for all nations in this region, as a secure &stable
Indo-Pacific region equals peace & prosperity for all.
Mr.
Goyal said that when the world looks at resilient supply
chains it looks east to Indo-Pacific region. He assured that as the world moves
to realign from over concentrated and risky supply chains, they can trust India
to provide a multitude of investment & manufacturing opportunities. He said
that India endorses the concept of working towards ensuring a transparent, trustworthy,
dependable & reliable supply chain. Mentioning about the Supply Chain Resilience
Initiative launched in Sept 2020 as a firm step towards building resilient supply
chains, he said that other friendly countries may also be included in it.
Mr.
Goyal said that the abundance of trade agreements in Indo-Pacific
has led to a decline in tariff rates over time. He, however, added that Non-Tariff
Measures act as a major trade barrier in the region. Trade facilitation can ease
cross-border movement of goods.
Mentioning
about India’ strengths, Mr. Goyal said that even during
the initial months of the pandemic, when the country was in lockdown, no supply
chain was allowed to be disrupted. It was ensured that the country met all its international
service commitments in IT sector. He said that our track record should give confidence
to our friends that India will be their natural & most reliable ally in years
to come.
Talking
about “Aatmnirbhar Bharat” (Self Reliant India), Mr. Goyal said that the country today stands at a critical juncture
where itis looking to forge its own destiny and of its 130 billion people. He said
that Aatmnirbhar Bharat is not about looking inward, rather
it is about engaging with the world with a spirit of competitiveness and from a
position of strength.
Mr.
Goyal said that PLI Schemes worth $26 bn covering 13 sectors have been announced to create &nurture
global manufacturing champions. He invited companies from the region to utilize
these incentives. He also mentioned about several measures taken resulting in the
simplification and rationalization of many existing rules ®ulations. The
Minister said that we are about to launch a single window clearance system. The
Doing Business Report, 2020acknowledges India as one of the top 10 improvers, for
the 3rd time in a row, with an improvement of 67 ranks in3 years. Talking about
macro-economic scenario in India. He said that the country received its highest
ever Foreign Direct Investment in its history despite COVID-19, even while investments
worldwide fell down. There is a new energy in our start-ups ecosystem- 6 months
into 2021, India has 15 more unicorns. India has witnessed the highest ever merchandise
exports in the history of India,18% higher than the exports
of Q1 of 2019-20.
Mr.
Goyal said that we can expand our export-import collaboration
in areas of Clean Tech, Tourism, Logistics, Sustainable Agriculture, Startups, Healthcare,
education & Life sciences. He invited the companies to set up their manufacturing
base and expedite our integration into each other's supply chains.
On
the issue of sustainability, Mr. Goyal said that India
is amongst the select countries regularly submitting national communications &
biennial update reports to UNFCCC. It shows that India has not only met its nationally
determined contribution to mitigate carbon emission, but has actually exceeded the
target. India had introduced the concept of “Climate Justice &Sustainable Lifestyle”
to the world and now India is showing the world how it is done.
Mr
Yoon Sung Roh, Chairman of the Presidential Committee,
Republic of Korea, Ms Betty C. Maina,
Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade
& Enterprise Development, Republic of Kenya, Dr. Thani
Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade
& Minister in charge of Talent Attraction and Retention, United Arab Emirates,
Mr Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, Minister for Commerce,
Trade, Tourism and Transport, Republic of Fiji, Mr Bandula Gunawardana, Minister of Trade,
Republic of Sri Lanka also addressed the session.