Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has highlighted India’s food security measures and reaffirmed commitment to rules-based multilateral trading system. Participating in the opening day of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr Goyal thanked the US G20 Presidency for placing food at the centre of the discussions. He said that ensuring food security for all and creating greater opportunities for farmers are central to India’s policy. He reiterated that food must never be used as an instrument of pressure against any country.
Mr Goyal pointed out that countries of the Global South are among the most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertiliser crises caused by global conflicts. He stressed that today’s fertiliser shortage could become tomorrow’s food crisis. The Ministers reached consensus on the outcome document, ‘G20 Statement on the Weaponization of Food through Coercive Trade Actions’, and expressed their intent to continue cooperation on the subject.
Earlier in the day, Mr Goyal joined G20 Trade Ministers and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative, on a visit to the Rockwell Automation office and factory in Mequon, Wisconsin. The Minister also held bilateral meetings with Trade Ministers and Representatives of Key G20 Partners on Sidelines of G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting.
