Piyush Goyal holds meetings with counterparts on sidelines of IPEF

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a series of bilateral talks at the IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) with the goal of expanding and exploring prospects for new investment opportunities in India.

The main topic of discussion between Goyal and Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, during Goyal’s four-day visit to the US, was bolstering trade and investment relations between Singapore and India.

Additionally, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister met with Damien O’Connor, his counterpart from New Zealand, on a bilateral basis. The president and CEO of Lam Research, Tim Archer, and Goyal spoke about potential investments in deep-tech space and semiconductor industries in India.

“Met Tim Archer, President & CEO, @LamResearch. Discussed an innovation-led future & investment opportunities in India’s semiconductor & deep-tech space that is ably supported by a robust talent pool,” Goyal’s said in a post on X.

Goyal also attended ministerial-level discussions on “Clean Economy and Fair Economy” on Tuesday (local time) in San Francisco. Additionally, the ministers for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) sat for a family photo.

Along with talking about the two pillars, ministers from 14 nations signed an accord on the resilient chain under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in an effort to form an alliance that would improve ties and lessen reliance on China in the post-Covid era.

On Monday, other members (not including India) were unable to strike a substantial trade deal during ministerial talks, despite their common goal of promoting a rules-based commercial order in the region where China is growing in influence.

India has so far stayed away from the trade talks while keeping its options open for the future. A decision on the trade pillar, which is being closely watched in the US, will take some time as just around half of it has been negotiated.

During the US visit until November 16, the Commerce and Industry Minister will participate in the third in-person IPEF Ministerial meeting and the engagements of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). India has been invited to the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting 2023 as a ‘Guest Economy’.

Goyal arrived in San Francisco on November 13. Kicking off the official tour, the Commerce and Industry Minister visited the Tesla Factory Unit in Fremont and interacted with the senior executives of the Tesla group.