Union Min Piyush Goyal chairs India-Italy Business Roundtable; outlines trade prospects

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday, May 6, co-chaired the India-Italy Business Roundtable with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. After the meeting, Goyal avered that India is looking forward to transformational and exponential growth in its trade relations with Italy. In his opening remarks at the India-Italy Business Roundtable with Luigi Di Maio, Piyush Goyal termed Friday's meeting only the first in a series which have been planned between the two countries. 

Outlining business prospects in India, Piyush Goyal stated that the country offers the "largest business opportunity anywhere in the world" and their country has been able to progress from an economy of $3 trillion to $10 trillion in 10 years. He further exuded hope that businesses on both sides will help in deepening the partnership between India and Italy. Taking to his Twitter handle, Piyush Goyal shared a glimpse of the India-Italy Business Roundtable with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. In the tweet, Goyal underscored that they aim for "transformational & exponential growth in our business engagements." He also noted that India and Italy can strengthen their cooperation in different areas like the digital sector, tourism and education. 

"India offers the largest business opportunity anywhere in the world as we progress from a USD 3 Trillion economy today to a USD 10 Trillion economy in ten years to a USD 30 Trillion economy in 20 odd years and to a USD 50 Trillion economy, which I believe we all are committed to, particularly when we see that we still are at very, very initial stages of development in the country," Piyush Goyal said during the India-Italy Business Roundtable. 

Many Italian companies consider India as a 'key country': Luigi Di Maio

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, in his remarks at the India-Italy Business Roundtable, highlighted that Italy and India have been undergoing dynamic economic cooperation. Maio noted that the bilateral trade between the two countries reached Euro 10 billion in the year 2020-2021. He further called the India-Italy Business Roundtable a "record step" towards shaping the "strategic partnership" between both sides. Luigi Di Maio further added that the Italian government is willing to bolster the cooperation between India and Italy at the industry level as well as between entrepreneurs. He underscored that many Italian companies consider India as a "key country" and the market of the country will lead to growth on an international scale. Prior to the India-Italy Business Roundtable, Goyal and Maio held a one-to-one meeting. During the meeting, both the leaders discussed several issues like enhancing trade and investment opportunities, India-EU FTA negotiations, cooperation in the framework of the WTO, Tech Summit on energy transition, and resumption of direct commercial flights. 

Inputs from ANI