Today, the Union Minister for Commerce and Textile Piyush Goyal addressed the doyens of the corporate world at Business Today's BT MindRush event, saying that India was the flavour of World Economic Forum meeting in Davos and WTO's MC 12 meeting in Geneva.
India was the deal maker and was not the dealbreaker at the MC 12 meeting last week in Geneva, Goyal said.
He said that India was the voice of the developing world, the voice of the poor and vulnerable segment, and was the voice of society that is not recognised since long time. He said that modernity and tradition are the strength of business in India.
Goel said that India is an attractive investment destination for the world, and Business community, political community and media all promoted India's growth story at Davos and Geneva. He said that unprecedented exports and FDI investment in FY 22 speaks about the resilience of the Indian economy. He reiterated to the business community to aim for $1 trillion of merchandise and services exports by 2030.
He said that We have signed two FTAs in a very short span of time, one with UAE and the second one with Australia. People used to think that we would not be able to deal with the developed world, but we did it. Minister also highlighted the interests of many countries to sign FTAs with India. He said that the negotiations with the EU, UK, and UK PM Boris Johnson on record expressed his willingness to get FTA negotiations completed by Diwali. Goel said that many countries have approached wanting to sign an FTA with India. Goel said that Switzerland, 5 Gulf countries, Kazakhasthan, have shown a deep interest in signing FTAs with India in the last few days. He said that the new government will consider the Australian FTA in their parliamentary session.
He also urged the business world to make maximum out of these opportunities as opportunities do not knock again. Goel praised the negotiations at the WTO ministerial meeting and said India fought for fisherman, farmers and public stock holding limit at MC 12.
Goel also pointed out in his address that in the last two global events - at Davos and at the WTO ministerial meeting - India witnessed a collective thinking coming to fore and everyone spoke about India's growth story. He highlighted the drastic change in the way India was seen by the world.
Goyal said that PM Modi has changed the image of India, our passports are being recognised across the world and we have emerged as the powerful voice of the world.
During the two years of the epidemic, Indian businesses have not defaulted against any commitments, he said. He said that we were credited as a trusted partner of the world. The union minister said that many companies across the world are looking for investments in India, because of the fact that India is an investment destination. India is a perfect place to invest in the world, Goel said.
Goel said that my reply to VUCA is 'Yuva' in India, and the world marvels at the skills of the fantastic youngsters.