Piyush Goyal says that Indian companies are also investing abroad in a big way, including in the Southern countries.
India is open to entering into preferential trade agreements with interested countries in the South, said Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday.
While speaking at the Voice of Global South Summit, he said that forging new partnerships among countries of the Global South will build resilient supply chains, increase trade and promote tourism.
While highlighting the impact of Covid-19 on global trade and particularly on developing countries, he stressed upon the need to work together to build resilient supply chains.
He also emphasised upon the need for de-politicisation of the global supply of essential medicines.
The minister added, “At the WTO ministerial conference held in Geneva in June 2022, India, South Africa and other developing countries worked together to obtain the TRIPS waiver decision providing equitable and affordable access to vaccines. We shall redouble our efforts at the WTO to get the TRIPS waiver extended to Covid-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.”
Goyal highlighted that the countries of the Global South are now contributing more than half of the world’s economic growth with South-South trade touching USD 5.3 trillion in 2021.
In this regard, he urged for enhanced trade linkages for the mutual benefit of all our countries.
Calling connectivity a defining factor for success in the developing world, Goyal spoke of India’s National Logistic policy (NLP) and the PM-Gati Shakti as the steps in this direction.
He said that countries of the Global South can work together to exchange best practices in models of connectivity that we employ in our countries.
The minister stated that southern countries are also helping to drive world investment. Indian companies are also investing abroad in a big way, including in the Southern countries.
“Financial cooperation between developing countries is also enabling developing countries to engage more in the global policy debates and shape the international agenda,” he stated.
On tourism, Goyal noted developing countries are now fast emerging from the impact of Covid-19, and the tourism sector has picked up in the last one year.
He called for working together with the countries of the Global south to promote tourism.
Goyal noted that many countries of the South have huge deposits of these resources and emphasised that we should work closely to use such resources for the benefit of the South.
