Overview
- Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India is negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, Oman, New Zealand, Chile and Peru, speaking at the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.
- He framed the effort as a response to global volatility, saying the agreements target smoother movement of trade and investment.
- Goyal noted that many additional countries have signaled interest in opening talks, following earlier FTAs with the UAE, Australia and the EFTA bloc.
- To support trade expansion, he cited domestic reforms that removed 42,000 compliances and repealed 1,500 outdated laws to improve the ease of doing business.
- He said the India Trade Promotion Organisation is ready to partner with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop an Andhra Mandapam convention centre modeled on New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam.