Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal hosted fifteen Ambassadors from various countries of the Africa region yesterday in New Delhi. During the interaction with the Ambassadors, the Minister said that India and Africa share remarkable friendship across decades and have the potential of becoming the powerhouse of the future. The event aimed at fostering closer economic cooperation, enhancing trade relations and exploring areas of collaboration between India and Africa.

Shri Piyush Goyal welcomed the Ambassadors and highlighted the significant value of India-Africa relationship. The Minister emphasized the commitment of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi towards making Africa a top priority and deepening India’s engagement with Africa on a sustained and regular way. He encouraged the heads of missions to work in solidarity and extended a hand of friendship for the growth of the African and Indian sub-continent.

The Minister reiterated that this is the beginning of a new engagement and reaffirmed that India would act as a trusted partner to expand trade, commerce, business, investment and opportunities between the two nations. He said India is open to FTA negotiations bilaterally or individually with African countries or Africa as a whole.

The event witnessed the participation of 15 ambassadors from key African nations namely Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. It provided a unique platform for diplomatic representatives to engage in fruitful discussions, strengthen bilateral ties, and forge new partnerships for mutual growth and development.

India and Africa share a long-standing history and a strong cultural bond. The African continent presents vast opportunities for Indian businesses, with its rapidly growing population, emerging middle class, and abundant natural resources. Through increased trade and investment, both India and Africa can benefit from each other’s strengths and expertise, fostering inclusive growth and job creation.

In addition to economic aspects, the gathering emphasized on the significance of cultural exchanges, people-to-people connections, and strategic collaborations between India and Africa. The event served as a platform to celebrate the rich diversity and heritage of both regions and strengthen the bonds of friendship.

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 The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi celebrated its 5th Anniversary and released the Fifth Anniversary issue of CTIL Magazine on August 2, 2022 at the Constitutional Club of India, Rafi Marg, New Delhi.

The event marked five years of inception of CTIL providing sound and rigorous analysis of legal issues pertaining to international trade and investment law. CTIL was established by Department of Commerce, Government of India with the objective of developing international trade and investment law capacity in India and as a repository of information on trade and investment law. CTIL has over the years emerged as a leader in engaging in and influencing the evolving discourse on global economic law issues. CTIL has also organised numerous conferences, stakeholder consultations, seminars and training programmes.

The Guest of Honour for the event was Shri. B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, Commerce Secretary, Government of India, who delivered the Keynote Address on “India’s perspective on WTO and MC 12”. The address highlighted India’s key contributions and successes on acting as a ‘deal-maker’ while preserving its interests in public stockholding and prevention of IUU fishing during the recent 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Geneva. He emphasized on the important role India is expected to and should play in multilateral discussions by positively engaging in issues like gender, labour and environment.

Ambassador Ujal Singh Bhatia, former Ambassador of India to the WTO and the former Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body delivered the Anniversary Distinguished Lecture on “Appellate Advocacy in International Trade Law: Views from the Bench”. The lecture provided insights into Ambassador Bhatia’s experience as a member and Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body. He emphasized on the uniqueness of the appellate procedure of the WTO’s dispute settlement body (DSB) by highlighting the high number of compliances of WTO DSB reports. He also underlined the relationship between public international law and international trade law, which was particularly strengthened with the emergence of globalization and adoption of the WTO DSB mechanism.

A Special Address on “The Role of Academic Think Tanks in Trade Policy Making” was delivered by Shri Amit Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The address accentuated the importance of academic engagement in trade policy formulation, particularly the assistance provided by CTIL and other CRIT Centres established by the Department of Commerce. He emphasized on the importance of creating an institutional memory through the Centres in order to enable the government to take informed decisions.

Professor James J. Nedumpara, Head and Professor, Centre for Trade and Investment Law delivered the Welcome Address and discussed the role played by CTIL in the past five years, including contributions in recent FTA negotiations. He thanked the leadership and encouragement by the Department of Commerce and IIFT to assist the Centre in achieving its goals in the past five years. This was followed by Vice Chancellor’s address delivered by Professor Manoj Pant, Vice Chancellor, IIFT. He applauded CTIL’s work as a ‘unique experiment’ to link academia and trade policy in the country.