New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has emphasised India’s commitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system and willingness to work with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to expand global trade.

Goyal met Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on the sidelines of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

“Emphasised India’s firm commitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system and willingness to work with WTO to expand global trade,” Goyal wrote on X social media platform.

Goyal also met Daren Tang, Director General of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

“As the India-WIPO alliance marks its 50th anniversary, we discussed avenues to harness India’s rising innovation and IP ecosystem and potential opportunities for collaboration,” the minister posted.

Earlier, the commerce minister had a productive engagement focused on the positive resolution of the outstanding issues with respect to the India-EU FTA with Maros Sefcovic, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, ahead of his Brussels visit starting next week.

“The shared commitment on both sides towards redefining the relationship is deeply encouraging,” said Goyal.

Sefcovic said he was glad to have reconnected with Goyal ahead of his visit to Brussels.

“Our goal remains the same — to keep making progress and elevate the trade and investment relationship to a new level,” said Sefcovic.

On the sidelines of the conference, Goyal held bilateral meeting with Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.

He discussed the impact of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on Indian exports, especially the steel sector and ensuring that the clean transition does not create dependencies.

In his meeting with Rebecca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, the emphasis was on advancing UNCTAD’s role in equitable economic transformation, deficiency in meeting the Paris Agreement commitments by developed countries, unjustified unilateral measures and South-South cooperation.

—IANS

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