New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday held a virtual meeting with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

During the interaction, both sides explored opportunities to enhance economic cooperation and improve supply chain resilience in a rapidly evolving global trade environment.

Goyal said the discussions focused on deepening trade engagement and expanding investment partnerships between the two countries.

“We discussed ways to further enhance our bilateral trade and investment ties while strengthening supply chain resilience,” he wrote on X.

Expressing optimism about future cooperation, the minister said he looked forward to deepening the strategic partnership with Qatar in the coming years.

“Looking forward to deepening our strategic partnership in the times ahead,” he added.

Earlier this month, India and Oman also discussed unlocking opportunities under the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to boost bilateral trade and investment.

Goyal had shared details of his telephonic conversation with Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Anwar bin Hilal bin Hamdoun Al Jabri, noting that both sides explored ways to deepen economic engagement.

Separately, the minister said the first tranche of the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement is close to being finalised, with a team of officials currently in Washington for discussions.

“We have almost finalised the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement,” he told the media earlier.

“We are working on mechanisms through which India can secure preferential market access in the US compared to its competitors,” he added.

India and the United States had decided to reschedule the meeting between teams headed by the chief trade negotiators of the two countries, following the US Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariff hikes.

–IANS

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