Jaipur, August 23 : A day ahead of the G20 trade ministers’ meeting in Jaipur, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday addressed a press conference here and said that ‘Vishwakarma Scheme’ launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a gamechanger for the artisans and handicraft industry.
Speaking on an IANS query on plight of artisans’ next generation in Rajasthan who are leaving the handicraft industry and moving towards greener pastures, Goyal added, “Our government has been making thorough research since years on artisans and keeping them in mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Vishwakarma Scheme’ for artisans on the Independence Day which will prove to be a gamechanger for the handmade industry.In fact, in next two days, I think there will be a further discussion on this topic.”
Speaking further on a query of World Trade Organisation, he said, “There is a need to modernise the WTO, it should take into account the level of development in developing as well as least developed countries.”
“Common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) should be there…and consensus-based decision making of the WTO should continue,” the Union Minister added.
Speaking on WTO reforms, he said that India wants the dispute settlement mechanism of the Geneva-based organisation to work smoothly.
Goyal has held a bilateral meeting with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is here for the meeting.
He also said that the member countries are looking at reaching a consensus on a “Jaipur call for action” to help promote industry, MSMEs and global trade.
Representatives of the G20 countries are gathering in Japiur for the trade and investment ministerial meeting scheduled on August 24-25.
When asked whether disagreement among G20 member countries over the Russia-Ukraine war is a concern, Goyal said “members are trying to build a consensus on as many issues as possible keeping in mind this reality.”….”there are some realities on which there is no possibility of a consensus … barring this we are trying to build a consensus on all the remaining priorities.”
The G20 members include Canada, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UK, the US and the EU.
He said that the members have deliberated on formulating high-level principles for digitalisation of trade and trade facilitation.
“We are confident that tomorrow and day after ministerial meetings will come up with a concrete actionable outcome agenda which will help the world withstand any future shocks,” Goyal added.
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