Nations reach out to India on trade amid global churn
India's economic resilience attracts over a dozen countries seeking stronger bilateral ties to boost trade, as it engages in multiple free trade talks.
New Delhi India’s economic resilience and political stability are key reasons that over a dozen small and big countries seek deeper bilateral ties with New Delhi to boost trade and investments, even as India is holding free trade talks with major economies such as the European Union and the United Kingdom, officials said.
The government, particularly the commerce ministry, is simultaneously engaged with delegations of several countries in just the month of March, they said, requesting anonymity. Some of the countries holding talks either virtually or physically this month include Cuba, Egypt, Oman, Peru, Chile, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Guatemala, Slovak Republic and Belgium.
Recently, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said bilateralism is emerging as a catalytic tool in a new global order while multinational institutions and their contributions are increasingly fading away. Referring to the global churning where India has an advantageous place, she said: “I’m glad to say that the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is conscious that India should be in a reckoning place as this churning is happening and the global reset is happening.” HT reported it on February 28.
“Prolonged geopolitical uncertainties leading to disruptions in global supply chains and the tariff war triggered by the Trump administration are two key reasons that prompt stronger and deeper bilateral ties with stable and reliable countries like India. And the trend is obvious seeing engagements of the commerce ministry,” one of the officials mentioned above said.
Deeper engagement with all countries interested to strengthen bilateral economic ties with India is positive, said the second official. “It will help in diversifying our trade basket and boost exports to newer markets. We cannot only bank on the prospects of ongoing FTAs [free trade agreements] negotiations with major economies,” he said. New Delhi is currently negotiating FTAs with the UK, the EU, Oman, Peru and Sri Lanka, meanwhile it is engaged with other countries to further boost commercial relationship.
The latest country to engage India is Cuba. Commerce minister Piyush Goyal’s latest meeting was held on Friday was with Cuban deputy prime minister Eduardo Martinez Diaz. “Spoke about potential collaboration in sectors like biotechnology & pharmaceutics. We also explored ways to further strengthen the India-Cuba trade & investment partnership and achieve mutual progress,” Goyal said in a post on X. Diaz said the two partners identified sectors such as the biopharmaceutical industry, renewable energy and ICT where the two can continue strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Goyal met Norway’s minister of foreign affairs, Espen Barth Eide on March 18 where they reaffirmed their commitment to fostering “high-level business engagements” for mutual growth. The Indian minister also met Liechtenstein foreign minister Dominique Hasler in New Delhi that day. Same day, he co-chaired a meeting with New Zealand’s trade minister Todd McClay to explore opportunities to strengthen business ties in key sectors such as education, tourism and technology.
India and New Zealand also announced they are negotiating an FTA. “As the two sides have launched FTA negotiations, I highlighted the huge opportunities for mutual cooperation across sectors, especially education, research, and innovation,” Goyal said on X after addressing the India-New Zealand Economic Forum in the presence of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, minister of state (MoS) for commerce Jitin Prasada held a bilateral meeting with Malaysian deputy trade minister Liew Chin Tong in New Delhi on March 18. They discussed ways for enhancing bilateral trade and collaboration in semiconductor and cooperation in services sectors.
Same day, Goyal held a meeting with Hungarian foreign and trade minister Péter Szijjártó and both discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade. A day earlier, he had an interaction with Slovak Republic finance minister Ladislav Kamenický where the two ministers discussed avenues to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and expand trade and investment opportunities, officials mentioned above said.
Similarly, Egypt showed interest in enhancing bilateral trade with India. On March 17, Goyal held a discussion with Egyptian minister of investment and foreign trade Hassan El Khatib in New Delhi for expanding trade and investment prospects and foster deeper economic collaboration between the two countries.
The same day the MoS met Sweden’s foreign affairs minister Maria M Stenergard and discussed ways to further strengthen the India-Sweden bilateral trade and investment partnership. Earlier this month, Belgian Princess Astrid visited India and discussed collaboration opportunities in key areas including trade, infrastructure, clean energy and defence to further deepen the India-Belgium bilateral partnership.
