Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that two more countries and a group want to negotiate free trade agreements (FTA) with India. He, however, did not disclose the names of the two countries.
Goyal said India is negotiating FTAs with the UK, the EU, the UAE and Australia. “Two more countries and a group have shown interest that they want to start talks for FTA,” he sai
Goyal met with nearly 15 Ministers on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting at Sorrento, Italy. The meetings were held to advance India’s trade position and negotiate bilateral and multilateral agreements. Among the countries and dignitaries he met included DG WTO, US, UK, EU, Brazil, China, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Canada, South Korea and Mexico.
Last month, India and the UAE formally launched negotiations on the pact, officially dubbed as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Both the sides have expressed a desire to reach a mutually beneficial economic deal and aims to conclude negotiations by December 2021 and sign a formal agreement in March 2022.
India and Australia have also agreed to conclude the long-pending free trade agreement by the end of 2022 and an early harvest trade deal by as early as December.
Talking about PM Gati Shakti national master plan for multi-modal connectivity, Goyal said it aims to develop infrastructure in an integrated manner to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy.
It will help in attracting investments and creation of jobs, he said, adding it would also help in development of infrastructure at a fast pace and save thousands of crores and cost overruns.
“There are several advantages of Gati Shakti…Intelligent planning will help in completing infrastructure projects on time,” he added.
