Shri Piyush Goyal addresses the Special Plenary with the Trade Ministers in the Indo-Pacific region

Minister of Commerce & Industry, Railways, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today invited thebusiness community in the Indo-Pacific region to actively take part in efforts for bolsteringdevelopment, trade and growth in the region. Delivering the keynote address at the CII’s SpecialPlenary with the Trade Ministers in the Indo-Pacificregion on the subject “Developing a Road Map for Shared Prosperity”, he said that India’s track record should give confidence toour friends that it will be their natural & most reliable ally in years to come..

Shri Goyal said that when we talk of shared prosperitywe must remember that “Shared prosperity isimpossible without shared commitment”.  He said that it is acommitment which entails sharing challenges as well asopportunities and risks as well as rewards.

He said that amidst all the sufferingcaused by the pandemic, there is a silver lining – agrowing spirit of brotherhood among nations to helpeach other. He said that this spirit of brotherhood, more thananything else, has laid a robust foundation on which wehave a chance to build promising partnerships.

Describing Indo-Pacific region as the new economic centre ofgravity of the globalised world, Shri Goyal said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in 2015, had articulated his visionfor the Indo-Pacific in one word ‘SAGAR’ i.e SecurityAnd Growth of All in the Region. He said that it must serve as theguiding principle for all nations in this region, as a secure &stable Indo-Pacific region equals peace & prosperity forall.

Shri Goyal said that when the world looks at resilient supplychains it looks east to Indo-Pacific region. He assured that as the world moves to realign from over concentratedand risky supply chains, they can trust India to provide a multitude ofinvestment & manufacturing opportunities. He said that India endorses the concept of working towards ensuringa transparent, trustworthy, dependable & reliablesupply chain. Mentioning about the Supply Chain Resilience Initiativelaunched in Sept 2020 as a firm step towardsbuilding resilient supply chains, he said that other friendly countries may also be included in it.

Shri 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, Shri Goyal said that even during the initial months of the pandemic, whenthe 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 ITsector. He said that our track record should give confidence toour friends that India will be their natural & mostreliable ally in years to come.

Talking about “Aatmnirbhar Bharat” (Self Reliant India), Shri Goyal said that the country today stands at a critical juncture where itis looking to forge its own destiny and of its 130 billionpeople. He said that Aatmnirbhar Bharatis not about looking inward, rather it is about engaging with theworld with a spirit of competitiveness and from a positionof strength.

Shri Goyal said that PLI Schemes worth $26 bncovering 13 sectors have been announced to create &nurture global manufacturing champions. He invited companies from the region toutilize these incentives. He also mentioned about several measures taken resulting in thesimplification and rationalization of many existing rules &regulations. The Minister said that we are about to launch a single windowclearance system. The Doing Business Report, 2020acknowledges India as one of the top 10 improvers, forthe 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 ForeignDirect Investment in its history despite COVID-19,even while investments worldwide fell down.There is a new energy in our start-upsecosystem- 6 monthsinto 2021, India has 15 more unicorns. India haswitnessed the highest ever merchandise exports in the history of India,18% higher than the exports of Q1 of 2019-20.

Shri Goyal said that we can expand our export-importcollaboration in areas of Clean Tech, Tourism,Logistics, Sustainable Agriculture, Startups, Healthcare, education & Life sciences. He invitedthe companies to set uptheir manufacturing base and expedite ourintegration into each other’s supply chains.

On the issue of sustainability, Shri Goyal said that India isamongst the select countries regularly submittingnational communications & biennial update reports toUNFCCC. It shows that India has not only met itsnationally determined contribution to mitigate carbonemission, but has actually exceeded the target. Indiahad 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 BandulaGunawardana, Minister of Trade, Republic of Sri Lanka also addressed the session.