World sees India as a reliable trade partner

Pune: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal claimed countries that were not very serious about talks on the free trade agreements (FTA) with India in the past had changed now. He further claimed that after realising that India was a reliable partner country, these countries have been giving a lot of importance to talks on trade agreements with India. Besides, India has been discussing trade agreements with the UK, European Union, Canada, Israel, and the organisation of the Gulf countries, ‘Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’. Against this backdrop, this claim made by Commerce Minister Goyal becomes noteworthy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited India, had announced that his country was keen to strengthen and expand cooperation with India in trade and technology. Moreover, Chancellor Scholz claimed that 1800 German companies were functional in India, and Germany also wanted to benefit from the quality and skilled manpower of Indians. Also, Scholz had said he would take the initiative to ensure that the FTA between India and the European Union (EU) would conclude as soon as possible.

In addition, India has been discussing a free trade agreement with the UK. There were claims that it would conclude in the next few months. Since British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is currently in India, the free trade agreement discussion would gain momentum. With the background of Germany’s economy being in the first position of the EU, Germany seems to give special importance to India’s free trade agreement with the EU.

India had discussed an FTA with the European Union even earlier, which did not go through due to a few disagreements. However, now the Federation seems to have realised the importance of India. A vague reference to this comes from the statement of the Union Commerce Minister. He retorted that countries which did not give special importance to the trade talks with India in the past have now been showing interest. Besides, Goyal pointed out that India has signed an FTA with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia in record time. Also, Goyal said that discussions on free trade agreements with the UK, Canada, EU, Israel and GCC have been progressing rapidly. Moreover, he claimed that India was moving fast in talks with Russia and its partner countries in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) for a trade agreement.

Furthermore, Goyal also drew attention to the fact that it was becoming evident that India has been getting a reputation as a reliable partner country worldwide.

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