Signing of the first-of-its-kind IPEF Pillar-II (Supply Chain Resilience) Agreement

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, participated in the third in-person IPEF Ministerial meeting on 14^th November, 2023. During this Ministerial meeting, the first-of-its-kind IPEF Supply Chain Resilience Agreement was signed by the Minister along with the Ministers from other IPEF partner countries. The Agreement is expected to make IPEF supply chains more resilient, robust, and well-integrated, and contribute towards economic development and progress of the region as a whole.

Speaking at the event, the Shri Goyal emphasized enhanced collaboration to realize collective aims of the IPEF, particularly on the need for mobilizing affordable financing for clean economy transition and for enhancing technology cooperation. He also urged early implementation of the envisaged cooperative work under IPEF, including on bio-fuels alliance suggested by India.   

Further, the Ministers from IPEF partner countries also had productive discussions on the substantial progress made by the IPEF partners on Pillar-III (Clean Economy) and Pillar-IV (Fair Economy). Speaking at the Ministerial meeting, the Minister suggestedenhanced collaboration among IPEF partners.

Also, on the sidelines of the IPEF Ministerial, the Minister held bilateral meetings with Her Excellency Ms. Gina Raimondo, United States Secretary of Commerce, His Excellency Mr. Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Minister of International Trade & Industry, Ministry of International Trade & Industry, Malaysia, and His Excellency Dr. (HC) IR. Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Republic of Indonesia.

During these Ministerial meetings, the Minister, inter-alia, discussedbilateral collaboration on trade, commerce and investment, enhanced business engagements, WTO matters, and other issues of mutual interest. During the interaction with his counterparts from ASEAN countries, the Minister suggested expedited conclusion of the AITIGA review.

The Minister and the US Secretary of Commerce co-chaireda kick-off industry roundtable titled, “Decoding the “Innovation Handshake”: U.S. – India Entrepreneurship Partnership”, which was co-hosted by the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and supported by National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and Startup India, CEOs from major ICT companies, executives from venture capital firms, and founders of startups in the critical and emerging technology space.

Capping off the day’s engagements, the Minister held an interaction with Indian entrepreneurs in the Western United States. The interaction was organized by the Consulate General of India in San Francisco in collaboration with IIT Alumni & TIE Global. Addressing the gathering, the Minister spoke about the immense potential that exists in India and the role that Indian diaspora, particularly the entrepreneurs, could play in accelerating India’s economic growth and development. He also exhorted them to support Hon’ble Prime Minister’s call for being vocal for local, and then turning local into global. 

Supply chain resilience: Agreement signed to strengthen IPEF supply chains and accelerate clean transition cooperation. The Minister signed the inaugural IPEF Pillar II Supply Chain Resilience Agreement to strengthen and integrate partner country supply chains, urged enhanced collaboration to mobilise affordable financing for a clean economy transition, promoted technology cooperation and a proposed bio fuels alliance, and supported early implementation of Pillar III and Pillar IV work. Concurrent bilateral meetings addressed trade, investment, WTO matters and the AITIGA review, while industry roundtables and diaspora engagements sought to deepen entrepreneurship partnerships and business collaboration.