Berlin, Oct 22 Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday assured global investors that India offers a stable and predictable business environment, and said those who invest, work and grow in the country would not face the kind of uncertainty seen elsewhere.
Speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue here, he said that the world is fragmented today and trust is a scarce commodity.
But India, he said, ensures a fair play for every investor, business person, and trader.
“I can assure everybody in the room and beyond that when you invest in India, you work in India, you grow in India, you build conglomerates of wealth or powerful business houses in India, I can guarantee you that you will never disappear one fine day, only to come out as a professor in a Japanese university,” he said.
The minister did not name anyone. But his remarks came in reference to Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, who reportedly disappeared from public view for several months in 2020 after criticising Chinese financial regulators, and was later appointed a visiting professor at Tokyo College, affiliated with the University of Tokyo.
Goyal also said that India has finalised nine free trade agreements, covering 38 countries. Those nations have a combined GDP of over USD 60 trillion.
India, before 2014, entered into some free trade agreements, including with Singapore. But collectively, all those free trade agreements covered a GDP of USD 10 trillion.
India is negotiating FTAs with a host of countries and blocs, including Canada, Israel, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), Mexico, the SACU (Southern African Customs Union) region, Brazil-led Mercosur, and Russia-led Eurasia.
“All of these economies collectively will add USD 15 trillion. So I would have opened the doors of India and opened Indian businesses, getting opportunities in GDP of USD 85 trillion out of a global GDP of USD 115 trillion. That’s 76 per cent of global GDP that will be open to Indian businesses,” he said.
(PTI News)
