Comm min, Indian mission officials of 20 nations discuss ways to boost exports
Senior officials from India's commerce ministry and the commercial wings of Indian missions in 20 countries discussed boosting exports of goods and services during a three-day meeting. Key topics included sector-specific opportunities, challenges in trade, technology, logistics, WTO matters, and the importance of the Market Access Initiative (MAI)
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New Delhi: Senior officials from the commerce ministry, and commercial wings of Indian Missions of 20 countries on Wednesday discussed ways to promote exports of goods and services. The three-day meeting was concluded on Wednesday. "Discussed country-specific and sector-specific opportunities and challenges in trade, technology, investment & tourism. Together, we explored ways to strengthen India's global leadership and foster deeper international collaborations," Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on X.
The issues which came up during the three-day deliberations included opportunities and challenges and the way ahead in six focus sectors (of goods and services each) in 20 countries of significance; non-tariff barriers; logistics; WTO (World Trade Organisation) matters; and role and importance of MAI (market access initiative), the official said.
The meeting was important as the commerce ministry is in the process of formulating a strategy to push exports of six key product categories, including engineering goods and electronics, to 20 focus countries, including the US, Australia, France, China, Russia, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia. These countries, including the US and the European Union nations, account for a major chunk of India's total exports. After recording double-digit growth in October 2024, India's exports in November contracted 4.85 per cent year-on-year to $32.11 billion.
Cumulatively, during April-November this fiscal year, exports increased by 2.17 per cent to $284.31 billion and imports by 8.35 per cent to $486.73 billion. Trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, during April-November widened to $202.42 billion from $170.98 billion during April-November 2023. Last month, Barthwal said that the ministry is focusing on 20 countries and six services and manufacturing sectors, including IT/ITeS to further boost the shipments. Services exports reached an all-time high of $34.31 billion in October, registering an increase of 22.3 per cent year-on-year.
