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India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who reached Wellington on a 4-day official visit to New Zealand, said that both the countries have agreed to respect each other’s sensitivities in the trade agreement.
New Delhi. India has made it clear that it will not compromise at any cost with the interests of dairy, farmers and MSME sector in its Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that India has always given priority to the security of these sensitive areas. Goyal is currently on a 4-day visit to New Zealand, where the fourth round of talks on India-New Zealand FTA is going on between the two countries.
He said that significant progress has been made in the trade talks so far and there may not be a need for too many further steps. He said, “India never compromises with the interests of dairies, farmers and MSMEs.” We always protect the interests of these sensitive areas.
Concrete discussion towards trade agreement
New Zealand is the world’s leading dairy producing country and hence India’s position is considered important in its demand to increase market access in this sector. He clarified that till now India has not given tariff concession to the partner country in dairy or agriculture sector in any trade agreement. He said, “We do not touch such issues. We respect each other’s sensitivities.” On the question asked about the next steps of the talk, the Commerce Minister said, “Maybe we may not need too many steps. Considerable progress has already been made in this direction. “Concrete discussions are going on towards a trade agreement.”
Possibilities of cooperation in defence, agriculture, space, education and tourism
However, he indicated that India may see opportunities to increase cooperation in agri-tech, especially in areas such as dairy machinery. Goyal, who was leading a business delegation, said there was huge potential for cooperation between India and New Zealand in sectors like defence, agriculture, space, education and tourism.
