Food fecurity cannot be compromised: Sharma to WTO

Also tells EU trade commissioner data secure status is important for India

Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma today met WTO Director General-Designate  Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo in Paris.

During the meeting, Sharma underscored the need for addressing the concerns of food security.

“This is essential to protect the interest of the subsistence farmers in developing countries and also the responsibility of the state for assuring food security for the poor and vulnerable section of the society,” he said.

He also mentioned that government procurement of food grains for public distribution system under minimum support price mechanism cannot be diluted.

This assumes importance as the Food Security Bill is pending before Parliament, an official statement said here.

Sharma also reviewed the progress of India-European Union Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) with EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht.

He underscored the need for addressing India’s concerns on providing data secure status. EU is willing to set up a Joint Working Group which will look at all the technical aspects to ensure that India will be able to achieve necessary compliance for data security purposes.