Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles said today that India has emerged as the voice of developing and least developed countries (LDCs) at the WTO's recent 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva.
Goyal, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday after leading the Indian mission to the MC12, said the MC12 produced numerous long-awaited conclusions. India "batted on the front lines" during negotiations on different topics, guided by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision.
“In fact, a statement also has emerged out of WTO after seven years,” stated Goyal, a day after returning from the Europe visit. “Almost every WTO decision bears India’s signature, India is seen leading from the front and India’s concerns are visible prominently in the outcome documents. We have been cent percent successful in stating our point of view, getting our agenda approved at the talks,” he added.
WTO made headway on various topics during the MC12, and a slew of international accords was reached after a several-year hiatus. India not only safeguarded the interests of its farmers, fisherman, MSME sector, poor people, and people from all walks of life but also ensured that their concerns would be addressed in the future.
“we neither came under any pressure nor buckled under pressure at any time. Far from being initially projected as a ‘Deal Breaker’ by certain countries, India finally emerged as a ‘Deal Maker’ at the WTO talks”, he said.