New Delhi: India continued to pursue pragmatic solutions to the challenges posed by the current world trade order. New Delhi exhibited patience, resilience while resorting to appropriate and opportune diplomatic interventions. Monday’s twin meetings in the United States underscore such attempts.
In Washington, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal’s trade engagement focused on the resumption of trade talks.
Meanwhile, in New York, the same day, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signalled an effort to steady bilateral relations amid trade frictions and new visa regulations.
India’s trade ministerial engagement in Washington sought to translate political goodwill into concrete commercial outcomes.
The intent was clearly stated in a ministerial handout announcing the delegation’s visit “to take forward the discussions with a view to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Trade Agreement”.
After a short period of freeze on bilateral talks, the September 16 Delhi visit of a trade team from the US witnessed a positive approach on various aspects of the trade deal.
Goyal’s visit was thus undertaken to intensify efforts in this regard, and so that the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) can be inked before the year ends.
The talks featured greater market access, supply chain cooperation, and dialogue on tariffs, non tariff barriers, and sectoral cooperation on technology, clean energy, and pharmaceuticals.
The US has been using the dialogues and commercial diplomacy to pursue market opening and trade enforcement, creating an established channel for negotiating practical trade issues.
Meanwhile, the US Department of State issued a statement saying Secretary Rubio “reiterating that India is a relationship of critical importance to the United States”.
It described the Secretary expressing “his appreciation for the Indian government’s continued engagement on a number of issues, including trade, defense, energy, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and other items related to the bilateral relationship”.
It signals a high level reaffirmation that strategic ties — including the Quad, Indo Pacific, among others — will remain a central pillar of the relationship even as disputes arise on trade policy.
Accounts of the meeting coming from both countries cited the discussions as constructive and aimed at stabilising ties after recent tariff related tensions, underlining an active diplomatic push to manage friction while advancing cooperation.
Immediate operational outcomes reported from the twin encounters point to an agreement to continue bilateral dialogues, to deepen ties with diplomatic and commercial efforts, and to task working level officials to negotiate specific market access and regulatory issues over the coming time.
Rather than certain immediate sweeping diplomatic and trade agreements, the meetings opened avenues for more bilateral readouts and focused working group meetings to manage disputes.
Thus, practical outcomes are likely to be visible soon in many areas with clear mutual benefit, with further development in frameworks.
(IANS)
