The Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for all nations to enhance transparency in their trade and build trust to prevent losing their role as a preeminent trade partner. He said that for trade to play its part in the recovery process, all the partners must be trustworthy and transparent. It is trust and transparency which determines the sustainability of global supply chains and nations must demonstrate their compliance with global rules of trade to remain a part of global trade flow. Increasingly, nations which trust each other are coming together to build global supply chains with corresponding investments in manufacturing and services, he said.
The Minister said that the ongoing crisis has exposed the world to vulnerabilities, forcing us to explore ways to support each other. He said that Trade can be an engine of reviving growth in such a scenario and this is premised on strengthening of the WTO based on its principles of openness, fairness, transparency, inclusivity, and non-discrimination.
The Minister called for removing multiple hurdles in access to medicines at affordable prices created by the lopsided WTO rules for protecting intellectual property. He mentioned that the TRIPS Agreement did not envisage a pandemic where demand for vaccines and medicines would come from several countries simultaneously, with the requirement changing at a rapid pace. He said that IPRs should not block access to critical medicines and other devices required for the treatment of the disease. Goyal said that the pandemic has quite paradoxically provided us with a window of opportunity - to strengthen ourselves by building capacities, expanding manufacturing as well as plugging into the global value chains. The Minister said that as BRICS members are among the most affected countries in the world, we must collectively demonstrate a determined will to emerge stronger, while being prepared to face any such unknown crisis.
Describing 2020 as a turning point in the history of multilateralism, especially for the BRICS grouping, the Minister said that any economic partnership must keep in mind the different size and population of each country, unequal levels of economic development and human development indicators, contrasting levels of prosperity, cultural diversity and significantly different political and judicial systems. He said that we place humanity at the centre of our global engagement and thus despite being hit hard by the virus ourselves, we have not shied away from providing humanitarian relief to those who sought it. India provided critical medical supplies to around 150 countries in these troubled times. As the 'Pharmacy of the World' we have catered to the spike in demand for drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetamol being used for the treatment of Covid-19.
About the steps taken to mitigate the economic challenges posed by the pandemic and bring economy back on track, Shri Goyal said that Prime Minister announced a stimulus package of over $300 billion, called Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, which is defined as a Self-Reliant India, which includes fiscal and monetary measures. He said that the edifice of this mission stands on five pillars of the economy: massive infrastructure building, technology, aspects of good governance, leveraging the demographic dividend, and promoting demand.
Calling upon BRICS to support responsible investment, Goyal said that it should be aimed at balanced outcomes and create gains even for recipient countries and, most importantly, employment generation. The Minister said that amidst this turmoil, the BRICS nations must prepare, act and stand in solidarity with each other and seize the opportunities that come our way to build a strong, resilient, and reformed trading system that lays the foundation for our shared aspirations.
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