The G20 Trade & Investment Working Group Meeting concludes in Jaipur
By Puja Devjani Mishra
Jaipur,Aug 26: Under India’s G20 Presidency, the two-day Trade &Investment Ministers’Meeting is been convened from 24-25 August in Jaipur. The meeting was led by, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles. The major focus of the meeting was the adoption of the G20 Ministerial Statement on Trade & Investment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the meeting through a video message. Prime Minister Modi said, “Trade and globalization have lifted crores of people out of extreme poverty.
”“Today, India is seen as a land of openness, opportunities, and choices.”“As a result of the continuous efforts of the government, India has become the fifth largest global economy during the last nine years.” During his address, the Prime Minister cited examples of increased competitiveness and increased transparency, expansion of digitization, and promotion of innovation.
He further said that “India has set up dedicated freight corridors and created industrial zones.” He added, “We have moved from red tape to red carpet and liberalized FDI flows.”
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, gave the keynote address at the beginning of the meeting, which was followed by statements from the Ministers of Commerce and Industry of Indonesia and Brazil, members of the Troika. Union Minister Goyal said that “the focus of the meeting is to help reduce barriers to international trade and investment, boost productivity and production, and encourage economic growth and prosperity for all.”
During this meeting, a session was organized on the topic ‘Leveraging Technology for Paperless Business’. Along with this, a special discussion about ‘Logistics for Trade’ also took place. The delegates then held wide-ranging discussions on ‘Multilateral Trade for Global Growth and Prosperity’.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the delegates visited the Amber Fort, where local artists gave a mesmerizing performance during the cultural evening. Further, an Experience Zone was organized for the delegates to showcase a wide variety of Indian Teas, Coffees, Spices, and Millets, and on ‘Jaipur Experience’.
Earlier, the fourth meeting of the Trade & Investment Working Group was held on August 21-22 in the pink city of Rajasthan. During the two-day meeting, representatives of member countries as well as invitees and international organizations brainstormed on five priority issues.
These five priorities include (i) trade for growth and prosperity, (ii) ease of trade and global value chains (GVCs), (iii) integrating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) into world trade, (iv) trade logistics and (v) World Trade Organization (WTO) reforms. The Working Group’s working agenda has been prepared keeping in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call that the G20 outcome should be action-oriented and address the challenges facing the Global South.
