India is enhancing its global economic engagement as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal prepare to visit six significant economies: the United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. This initiative is set to take place in the coming weeks, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Goyal Leads Trade Delegation to Japan
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is on a four-day visit to Japan, starting Monday, to enhance trade and investment relations between the two nations. He is accompanied by a delegation of 200 industry representatives. The focus of the visit is to strengthen bilateral trade, particularly through the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Japan ranks as India’s fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment, with over 1,400 Japanese companies operating in India.
In a related development, India and Chile are currently negotiating a broader trade agreement, building on their 20-year-old preferential trade agreement (PTA).
In the second leg of her journey, Sitharaman is expected to attend the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) meeting in Asheville on August 31-September 1. Later, in the last week of September, Goyal is scheduled to visit the US and attend the G20 trade ministerial meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, starting on September 30.
