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India will discuss key trade issues with an open mind at the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting later this month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday, as New Delhi continues to engage global partners while expanding its trade footprint.
"We have the WTO ministerial coming up end of this month. We'll discuss these issues with an open mind during the WTO ministerial," Goyal said while speaking on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. Goyal also praised the Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, for emerging as a major international platform that attracts policymakers, diplomats and experts from around the world. "Raisina Dialogue makes India proud. It has truly established itself on the global stage as a must-attend event," he said. "Very high-quality discussions, very high level of participation both from India and internationally." The annual conference, organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with India's Ministry of External Affairs, brings together leaders, ministers, academics and policy experts from dozens of countries to discuss global strategic and economic issues. Goyal credited External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, ORF President Sameer Saran and the organising team for building the event into a globally recognised forum. "I must compliment my dear brother and friend Dr Jaishankar, Mr Sameer Saran and the entire team working on Raisina Dialogue for the fabulous work they've done," he said. The minister said more such engagements across India could help showcase the country to the world and strengthen international partnerships. "We need more engagements like this across the length and breadth of India to showcase India to the world," he said, adding that such interactions help deepen global understanding and cooperation. "These engagements help build bridges of trust and friendship," Goyal said. "In this day and age where we are looking at globalising the Indian economy and expanding our trade, particularly reaching out to the developed world with our offerings, I think such engagements will hold us in good stead." He added that greater engagement between the developed and developing world could also benefit younger generations. "The future economic growth is going to be led by the less developed countries and the developing world," Goyal said. "If children in the developed world were to spend six months a year in India, they would actually have a much more rounded personality and learn to deal with the challenges that developing countries or less developed countries have to face." Such exposure, he added, would better prepare them for careers in an increasingly interconnected global economy. (ANI)
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