Piyush Goyal Announces Trade Deals With 20 More Nations

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the Indian government is negotiating market access deals with at least 20 additional countries. Speaking to business leaders at a Coimbatore Citizens Forum in Coimbatore, Goyal stated that these talks build upon nine free trade agreements signed over the last three and a half years, which already provide preferential access to 38 developed nations.

Goyal provided specific timelines for major pending deals, projecting that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement will become operational by May 1 and the India-EU agreement within nine months. He noted that the current strategy targets high-income economies, including Israel, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Eurasian region, where Indian industries encounter less direct competition.

The minister linked these trade initiatives to India's status as the fastest growing economy, citing strong macroeconomic fundamentals and structural investments. These include the rapid rollout of 5G technology and a ₹2 lakh crore investment in a national power grid to improve industrial reliability and resilience.