India is not living in isolation, says Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal addressed German research institutes during his visit to Germany, emphasizing that India is not living in isolation. He highlighted India's open doors to global trade and the various trading arrangements the country has with the world, which enable greater supply chain integration, open borders, free flow of goods, services, and ideas.

Goyal believes that for India to be a part of resilient global value chains, this will require a partnership between researchers, academia, and industry, with the government playing a catalytic role.

He praised the role of German institutes in transforming research into products, noting that Germany's strength lies in bridging the gap between the laboratory and the factory. Goyal expressed his intention to engage with these institutes to learn about the connections they have established between research, industry, and people. He emphasized that the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) provides a strong foundation for a new chapter in research cooperation between India and Germany.

Goyal invited the institutes to collaborate with Indian industry and academia, aiming to take research from the laboratory to the factory. He envisions India as a hub for co-development, co-design, co-creation, and co-innovation, with the country covering already two-thirds of global markets and potentially reaching 75 percent of global GDP within the next year and a half, thanks to the numerous free trade agreements India has established.

The visit, which lasted from October 22 to 24 and continued to the Netherlands from October 24 to 27, was led by Goyal and involved around 100 businesses and startups. The Commerce Ministry stated that the visit aims to strengthen trade, investment, and technology ties between India and Germany.