By Our Correspondent
JAIPUR/BHUBANESWAR: Under the G20 Indian Presidency, for the Trade and Investment Working Group, Pink City Jaipur will be the host for the Trade and Investment Ministers from the G20 members, invitee countries and Heads from prominent international organisations like World Trade Organization for the Ministerial Meeting on 24th and 25th August, 2023.
More than 300 delegates are arriving in Jaipur for the G20 TIMM. Notably, trade ministers from the USA, the UK, China, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, EU, Republic of Korea, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, France, Bangladesh, Egypt, Netherlands, Oman, Singapore and UAE will be attending the Meeting which will be chaired by Sh. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Minister of Textiles.
In the opening session on 24th August, 2023, a video message of the Hon’ble Prime Minister will also be played which will set the stage for fruitful discussions on global trade and investment issues. Subsequently, the ministers will deliberate on issues of common interest impacting global trade and investment across three sessions focusing on multilateral trade for global growth and prosperity, inclusive and resilient trade and leveraging technology for paperless trade.
The outcomes from these deliberations would provide guidance on accelerating global trade and investment, which is increasingly facing headwinds from a challenging global macroeconomic outlook. G20 members represent 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of world’s population, thus it is more important to work with collaborative spirit for building a shared understanding of the challenges being faced in accelerating global trade and investment, and how to leverage existing opportunities to make growth inclusive and transparent.
The Ministerial Meeting will be preceded by the 4th and last Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting under India’s G20 Presidency which will take place on August 21 and 22, 2023 at the same venue. During this meeting, senior trade and investment officials from G20 members, invitee countries and international organizations will deliberate on the proposals made by the Indian Presidency across five priority issues namely Trade for Growth and Prosperity, Resilient Trade and GVCs, Integrating MSMEs in World Trade, Logistics for Trade and WTO Reform. Pertinently, during the first three TIWG meetings which were held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kevadia, extensive discussions had taken place on these identified priorities. In addition, Knowledge Partners had made presentations during these meetings, outlining each of the subjects and outcomes emerging therein. Based on the opinions/suggestions expressed by the G20 member/invitee countries in these discussions, Indian Presidency has formulated action-oriented concrete proposals on each of the priority issues which are reflected in the Ministerial Statement and its annexures.
So far as substantial issues are concerned, the deliberations will pave for reiteration by the G20 that the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, is indispensable for advancing our shared objectives of inclusive growth, innovation, job creation and sustainable development. Further, the ministerial meeting will provide an opportune moment for the G20 to highlight the critical role that technology can play in transforming the conventional procedures and processes followed to undertake cross-border trade. In this regard, the Indian Presidency has focused on the concrete gains that could accrue to the countries by transitioning towards paperless trading system which will further reduce transaction costs, make smaller shipments more cost effective, and will enable internationalization of operations at a lower cost, ensuring trade competitiveness in a rapidly digitalizing world. It is expected that a consensus will emerge in the G20 on the proposals put forward by the Indian Presidency.
It is also critical for the G20 to remove bottlenecks that impede integration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in international trade. Since MSMEs are vital for job creation and boosting GDP, it is apt for G20 to address three critical dimensions of inadequate access to business and trade-related information, finance and markets that hinder participation of MSMEs in global trade.
Further, as 70% of the world trade manifest through Global Value Chains (GVCs), it is imperative for the G20 TIWG to deliberate on developing mapping framework that could make GVCs resilient towards future shocks.
The G20 TIWG has also embraced the priority on WTO Reform to build consensus among countries for standing together to support the ongoing reform process and work constructively to achieve meaningful outcomes at the upcoming Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13).
The interventions and suggestions made by the member countries on each of the Priority Issues immensely assisted the Presidency in preparing draft text for the Ministerial Statement and its annexes.The deliberations during the TIWG meetings have led to a good level of refinement in the drafts, and clearly reflect the commitment of G20 TIWG to make global trade inclusive.
It is expected that TIMM will pave way for trusted collaboration amongst G20 members to accelerate global trade and investment. It aims to co-develop tools that could leverage existing opportunities to make growth inclusive and transparent for all, resonating with Indian Presidency’s G20 theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Knowing the importance of the interlinkage of the five proposed Priority Issues, Indian Presidency had also organized Side Event Seminars on Trade Finance, Trade and Technology, and Trade Infrastructure in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ekta Nagar respectively. The aim of these seminars was to bring together the stakeholders across all layers of governance and brainstorm on collective actions that are needed to build a robust global trade ecosystem.
During TIMM, an experience zone to showcase the wide variety of Indian tea, coffee, spices and millets will be set up for the delegates, and an exhibition on Jaipur Experience will be on display to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Pink City. Also, Ratri Bhoj and cultural program will be organised for TIMM delegates on August 24.
