Jaishankar said that the government tries to keep farmers’ and MSMEs’ (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) interests while negotiating the terms of FTAs
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been cautious about FTAs. He was speaking at the Bharat @100 event by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
Jaishankar said that the government tries to keep farmers’ and MSMEs’ (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) interests while negotiating the terms of FTAs.
“Modi government has been very cautious on FTA for two reasons. Number one, weighing the experiences and the results of previous FTAs and number two, our concern for the impact of FTAs on MSMEs. We will always keep MSME interest and the interest of our farmers in mind when we negotiate FTAs. We have been pressing very strongly. For a review of the ASEAN India trading goods, agreement, because we have concerns about the impact of that FTA on the development of manufacturing in it, and we feel that that FTA should not become, in a way, damaging to the Indian economy.”
“When it comes to EU and UK, I think it’s complex, because there are many non-trade issues also, so those also have to be negotiated so and in the case of EU, because there are multiple members, everybody has their interest. Overall we benefit we believe that these will benefit us. It is also a fact that if you become excessively dependent on single supply chains, or you in the name of supply chains, you open up your market so that it is not no longer a supply chain, but your sectors are getting hollowed out. We don’t want to end up as a market of other countries. We have to find a right balance here,” he said.
Speaking about PM Modi’s governance, the EAM said that 10 years has made the government stronger, despite the Covid break.
“10 years… I would say, has stronger, better, more effective governance, 10 years and with the Covid break. When Covid first came our knowledge, I’m talking to January of 2020. Actually, in the world, everybody thought that the biggest hit would be India. And if you look around the world, be very honest, a lot of countries, even even developed countries, are not entirely recovered,” he said.
Jaishankar said that even Europe is still plagued with the problems induced by Covid. “If you see Europe today many of their problems are blamed on the Ukraine situation, not wrongly, but a lot of them also post Covid, actually found it hard to come back in there,” he said.
Jaishankar said that the world is interested in India, and the feeling in the world was that they would come to India. “You know the Chandrayaan landing was huge… World is interested. World wants to deal with us. We have to make it easier. We have to make it profitable. We have to make it mutually advantageous. The world is a competition. There are some other countries also who are, a magnet, in many ways, for investment so, but overall, I would say today is the world that feeling that let’s go to India, that, you know, I’m seeing that impressed much more,” he said.
‘Need for better access in Russian market’
Jaishankar elaborated on the growing ties between New Delhi and Moscow, while also pressing on the need for greater access for Indian goods in the Russian market.
He also pointed out that in addition to the oil import, India has also increased its imports of fertilizers, cooking coal and other natural resources from Russia.
“What has happened with Russia in the last two years, people generally know we have been importing more oil from Russia. I think what people don’t know so well that it’s not only oil, we’ve also for example been importing other natural resources, you know cooking coal is a very good example. We’ve also been importing fertilizers in large amounts and to my mind this is a shift which I hope will be long term because I think this is in the interest of India,” Jaishankar said at the event.
Elaborating on the requirements of the Indian economy in today’s context, the Foreign Minister said that countries like Russia, Australia, Indonesia and Brazil, are “natural partners” for India, as it can help in the access of long-term sustainable natural resources.
Adding further, he said, “Look at our (India) situation today, we are today let us say a below 4 trillion dollar economy, likely to grow at 7-8 per cent for at least 2-3 decades more. What do we need to help people? We need technology. We need access on a long-term sustainable natural resources. So for we countries which are natural resources economies, you know Russia, Australia, Indonesia and Brazil, these are our natural partners, these will be important partners in times to come”.
Highlighting that Indians have been “loyal customers” to Russia, Jaishankar said that New Delhi is pressing Moscow very strongly to allow greater access to Indian exports in the Russian market.
“We also need a better access to the Russian economy. So we are pressing them in the pharma industry, marine products, agro”, he said.
He said that India will make progress in persuading and cajoling Russia to open doors for doing business with India.
EAM told the audience that the First Deputy PM of Russia, Denis Manturov, who was in Delhi last month, is in charge of the economic relationship and India has made a very strong pitch to them. (ANI)
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