San Francisco [US] : India has joined the United States and 12 other Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) partners to ink the IPEF supply chain resilience agreement, which Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said will “fortify and strengthen” global supply chains.
India and the US are among the 14 supply chain resilience partners of IPEF along with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
This global supply chain resilience agreement is seen as a counter to reducing massive reliance on China, particularly after severe supply disruptions after the Covid shock.
Under the proposed agreement, the IPEF partners seek to provide a framework to build their collective understanding of significant supply chain risks; improve crisis coordination and response to supply chain disruptions.
It will also seek to ensure that workers and the businesses, especially micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises benefit from resilient, robust, and efficient supply chains; ensure the availability of a sufficient number of skilled workers in critical sectors and key goods, including by upskilling and reskilling workers, among others.
In a post on microblogging site X, after the signing of the agreement, Union Minister Goyal who is currently on a four-day visit to the US said that first-of-its-kind international agreement will “fortify and strengthen” global supply chains, and “foster adaptability, stability and sustainability.”
Goyal thanked his US counterpart Gina Raimondo for her leadership and personal commitment to ensuring the “truly historic” moment towards a more resilient future.
Following the launch of IPEF in Tokyo, Japan on May 23 last year and the subsequent release of the IPEF Ministerial Statements on September 9, the partners have worked constructively, including through four rounds of in-person negotiations, several virtual intersessional meetings, and numerous bilateral meetings, according to a US Department of Commerce statement.
Earlier on November 13, Goyal participated in the Investors Round Table organized in collaboration with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum and Indiaspora.
The event was attended by venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from a wide spectrum of industries in the US, including from the domains of energy, manufacturing, logistics, and technology, among others.
In an interactive session held in San Francisco as part of the first leg of the tour in the US, the Union Minister held wide-ranging discussions with the participants and highlighted the various steps taken by the government of India to improve the ease of doing business. He has so far held various bilateral meetings with his counterparts of various countries.
“…highlighted how the country offers promising opportunities for investors, thanks to the unique combination of our demographic dividend, manufacturing capabilities & conducive business environment,” Goyal posted on X, contending that India is an attractive investment destination for the world.
The Commerce and Industry minster kicked off his US official tour with a visit to the the Tesla Factory Unit in Fremont and interacted with the senior executives of the Tesla group.
In a post on X Goyal said that the US electric car maker is on its way to double its component imports from India.
He said that he is “delighted” to see Indian engineers and finance professionals working in senior positions and contributing to Tesla’s journey to transform mobility.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk had in June this year said that he was planning to visit India next year, adding that he was confident that the electric carmaker will be in India and will do so “as soon as humanly possible.”