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JAIPUR: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India has proposed to make WTO a more modern organisation, while retaining its core principles of allowing countries to undertake obligations based on the stage of their development.
Reform of WTO is part of the five issues being pushed by India at the meeting of G20 trade and investment ministers with Goyal acknowledging differences between members on the issue of the Ukraine conflict, while being optimistic on the overall outcome.
“We are hoping for a good outcome document. There is a good understanding between the member countries, but there are some issues on which consensus is difficult. Barring these, we are trying to build a consensus on all the remaining priorities,” the minister said while replying to a question on Ukraine conflict.
The issue of reform of WTO, which has split members, was discussed during a meeting between the minister and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the head of the multilateral body, on Wednesday. “India wants WTO to stay strong and it will play an important role in its reforms,” the minister told reporters.
“The multilateral trading system has found resonance (with G20 trade ministers),” he said, adding that the dispute settlement mechanism, which has been blocked by the US for the last few years, needed to be re-established.
Goyal sought a “Jaipur call for action” to promote global trade and investments at the meeting, weeks before leaders from G20 countries land in Delhi for the annual summit. “Jaipur call for action will help promote industry, MSME sector, upgrade the global trade help desk, and bridge information gaps for MSMEs to help them expand their business and trade,” he said.
Reform of WTO is part of the five issues being pushed by India at the meeting of G20 trade and investment ministers with Goyal acknowledging differences between members on the issue of the Ukraine conflict, while being optimistic on the overall outcome.
“We are hoping for a good outcome document. There is a good understanding between the member countries, but there are some issues on which consensus is difficult. Barring these, we are trying to build a consensus on all the remaining priorities,” the minister said while replying to a question on Ukraine conflict.
The issue of reform of WTO, which has split members, was discussed during a meeting between the minister and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the head of the multilateral body, on Wednesday. “India wants WTO to stay strong and it will play an important role in its reforms,” the minister told reporters.
“The multilateral trading system has found resonance (with G20 trade ministers),” he said, adding that the dispute settlement mechanism, which has been blocked by the US for the last few years, needed to be re-established.
Goyal sought a “Jaipur call for action” to promote global trade and investments at the meeting, weeks before leaders from G20 countries land in Delhi for the annual summit. “Jaipur call for action will help promote industry, MSME sector, upgrade the global trade help desk, and bridge information gaps for MSMEs to help them expand their business and trade,” he said.
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