India Wants Reciprocal Trade with Other Countries: Goyal

New Delhi: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday asserted that Indian products deserve fair access to other countries before these countries can freely access the Indian market.

"India wants reciprocal trade with other countries," he stressed.

In his address at the inaugural 'India Virtual FMCG Supply Chain' event organised by Ficci, Goyal said: "Countries should, in a phased manner, look at sourcing from India, developing their products in India and then encash the large business opportunity that 1.3 billion Indian people offer."

According to him, it is time that the Indian industry stood up as one to ensure that it gets a level playing field. 

"Our government will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with industries in their efforts to become more competitive and engage with the world on equal and fair terms. We are moving towards balanced trade," he said.

Urging the Indian industry to support and work together towards the aim of a prosperous India in the long run, Goyal said: "We shall ensure that any unfair treatment to Indian industries will be taken up at the highest level."

He further added that green shoots have become visible in the economy and exports have shown a healthy turnaround. 

"Our balance of payments is going to be very strong this year. We need to ensure that India brings back the economic activity very quickly," he stressed.

Highlighting the importance of India in the global supply chain, Goyal said that the country can be a part of global supply chains, provide work opportunities to millions of people and enable them to become a part of the growing engagement with the world.