Piyush Goyal to address G20 Trade Ministers Summit in Italy on October 12, holds bilateral meetings

Union Minister Piyush Goyal (Illustration: Moneycontrol)

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be participating in a meeting of the trade ministers of top economies at the G-20 Ministerial Summit in Italy on October 12.

The summit comes ahead of the official G20 Leaders' Summit later in October in Rome.

India's actions on the global stage, including the G20 meeting are guided by the government's commitment to achieving $400 billion worth of exports this year, with an aim for $450-500 billion next year.

On global issues, Goyal will be pushing for quickly repairing and restoring critical supply chains that enable trade and will be working with other key economies to work out a way forward on multilateral issues.

Issues galore

Hit by a series of supply chain constraints after Covid-19 hit, the latest being a spiralling coal crisis owing to volatilities in global coal prices and low supply, India has been especially focused on ensuring that supply chains for thousands of products are quickly restored.

As part of a growing self-reliance exercise under 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', the government is also working on ensuring that India becomes a hub for global value chains, pulling in companies that are leaving China.

Case in point, last week US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said India and the US are working to ensure that supplies of critical items such as medicines, medical supplies, semiconductors and critical minerals don't stop in the future.

Goyal will also be looking to give further impetus to the plethora of Free Trade Agreements and other trade deals and partnerships that India is currently negotiating.

India is fast emerging as the most trusted global trading partner.

Bilateral boost

Goyal is also meeting trade ministers of a large number of countries on a one-to-one basis. He met the Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the first time. "India is committed to support the WTO in its efforts to strengthen multilateral trading system & ensure open and fair trade for benefit of all member countries, Goyal tweeted.

India is trying to move beyond the United States in North America. During a meeting with Canada's Minister for International Trade Mary Ng, Goyal said talks are on for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with energy, new technologies, manufactured goods & services, being key areas for future cooperation. Meeting Mexico's Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier, Goyal lauded the big jump in bilateral trade & investment in recent years especially in the automobile, IT & health sectors.

On the other hand, India took a more cautious approach to South Korea. During a meeting with South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, Goyal said 'balancing trade between our two countries is important for further strengthening the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement'. Both nations are currently in the process of reviewing their existing FTA owing to complaints from India.

This includes South Korea, Australia, South Africa, the United States, Brazil, China, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and the European Union.