The G20 Trade & Investment Working Group Meeting concludes in Jaipur

Under India’s G20 Presidency, the two-day Trade & Investment Ministers’ Meeting is been
convened from 24-25 August in Jaipur. The meeting was led by, Piyush Goyal, Minister of
Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles. The
major focus of the meeting was the adoption of the G20 Ministerial Statement on Trade &
Investment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the meeting through a video message. Prime
Minister Modi said, “Trade and globalization have lifted crores of people out of extreme
poverty.” “Today, India is seen as a land of openness, opportunities, and choices.” “As a
result of the continuous efforts of the government, India has become the fifth largest global
economy during the last nine years.” During his address, the Prime Minister cited examples
of increased competitiveness and increased transparency, expansion of digitization, and
promotion of innovation. He further said that “India has set up dedicated freight corridors and
created industrial zones.” He added, “We have moved from red tape to red carpet and
liberalized FDI flows.”
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, gave the keynote address at the
beginning of the meeting, which was followed by statements from the Ministers of
Commerce and Industry of Indonesia and Brazil, members of the Troika. Union Minister
Goyal said that “the focus of the meeting is to help reduce barriers to international trade and
investment, boost productivity and production, and encourage economic growth and
prosperity for all.”
During this meeting, a session was organized on the topic ‘Leveraging Technology for
Paperless Business’. Along with this, a special discussion about ‘Logistics for Trade’ also took
place. The delegates then held wide-ranging discussions on ‘Multilateral Trade for Global
Growth and Prosperity’.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the delegates visited the Amber Fort, where local artists gave
a mesmerizing performance during the cultural evening. Further, an Experience Zone was

organized for the delegates to showcase a wide variety of Indian Teas, Coffees, Spices, and
Millets, and on ‘Jaipur Experience’.
Earlier, the fourth meeting of the Trade & Investment Working Group was held on August
21-22 in the pink city of Rajasthan. During the two-day meeting, representatives of member
countries as well as invitees and international organizations brainstormed on five priority
issues. These five priorities include (i) trade for growth and prosperity, (ii) ease of trade and
global value chains (GVCs), (iii) integrating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
into world trade, (iv) trade logistics and (v) World Trade Organization (WTO) reforms. The
Working Group’s working agenda has been prepared keeping in mind Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s clarion call that the G20 outcome should be action-oriented and address the
challenges facing the Global South.