New Delhi/Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg. The Prime Minister shared a brief note about the meeting in a post on X.
“Interacted with Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg,” the Prime Minister wrote.
While details of the discussion were not immediately made public, the meeting took place at a time when several trade-related issues feature prominently in both the G20 agenda and ongoing WTO consultations. India has been engaging with the WTO on matters relating to agricultural support, food security, fisheries subsidies, e-commerce rules, and reform of the multilateral trading system.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala has been participating in G20 deliberations as part of the invited international organisations contributing to sessions on global economic stability, supply chain resilience, trade facilitation, and the needs of developing economies. India has consistently maintained that multilateral trade rules must remain balanced and responsive to the concerns of the Global South.
The Prime Minister and the WTO Director-General have met at multiple international platforms in recent years, especially during India’s G20 Presidency and at ministerial-level negotiations convened by the WTO. India has previously underlined the need to safeguard the policy space of developing countries in areas such as public stockholding for food security and domestic support for small farmers.
The interaction in Johannesburg took place on a day marked by wide-ranging bilateral and multilateral engagements for the Prime Minister during the G20 proceedings. The Summit has included discussions on global economic recovery, digital transformation, reform of global institutions, sustainability goals, and cooperation on international supply chains.
The WTO chief has repeatedly emphasised the importance of strengthening the rules-based global trading framework while ensuring that developing countries benefit from global commerce. India has been engaged in ongoing WTO negotiations on issues including fisheries, agriculture reform and the future of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
The brief interaction between PM Modi and Dr Okonjo-Iweala adds to the series of conversations India has been holding with global economic institutions at the Summit.
(IANS)
