Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal participates in G20 ministerial meeting in Japan

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Saturday participated in the G20 ministerial meeting on Trade and Digital Economy, held in the Japanese city of Tsukuba.

The meeting focused on the ways to promote trade and cooperation among the G20 countries in order to harness the potential of the digital economy.

Taking to his official Twitter handle after the meeting, Goyal wrote, "Attending the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Trade & Digital Economy in Japan, graced with presence of Trade & Digital Economy Ministers of member countries. Participated in discussions relating to increasing trade & cooperation to harness the potential of digital economy."

Earlier in the day, the Commerce minister held bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit in order to sensitize India's core interests in trade and investment issues and build a coalition with like-minded countries for defending the interests of developing countries.

In a series of tweets through the day, Goyal informed of holding meetings with US Ambassador to World Trade Organization, Dennis Shea; China's Vice Minister of Commerce, Wang Shouwen; and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment, Simon Birmingham, among others.

"Met with US Ambassador to World Trade Organization, Dennis Shea and had a forward looking discussion on India-US trade relations and boosting economic cooperation between the two nations," Goyal wrote on Twitter.

Another tweet read, "Met China's Vice-Minister of Commerce, Wang Shouwen and had a fruitful discussion regarding strengthening mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two countries."

The third tweet read, "Met Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Simon Birmingham and engaged in a dialogue for strengthening economic and trade ties between the two nations @Birmo"

Other than this, Goyal also held bilaterals with Minister of Trade and Industry for Singapore, Chan Chun Sing; Minister of Commerce and Investment for Saudi Arabia, Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasabi; Minister of Trade and Industry for South Africa, Ebrahim Patel, and Minister for Trade of the Republic of Korea, Yoo Myung-Hee.

The G20 trade ministers' deliberations form part of the G20 summit leaders agenda in the formal discussions and will also be a part of the summit declaration.

Ever since G20 was formed, India has been actively participating in the meetings. Although there are no binding commitments in G20, it sets the agenda for multilateral trade relations.

Over 50 trade and digital economy ministers will discuss how G20 economies can promote trade and investment and maximise benefits from the development of digital technologies to ensure sustainable growth of the global economy.

The Trade and Digital Economy meeting is one of the eight ministerial meetings taking place in Japan alongside the 2019 G20 Summit. The G20 members represent two-thirds of the world's people and 85 per cent of its economy.