No partnership or deal can be one-sided; it has to be a win-win situation: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

There can be no one-sided partnership or deal, and it ought to be a win-win situation for both parties, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, said on Wednesday at FICCI Leads 2025. “Proliferation of trade dynamics can only yield success stories,” he added.

The minister also said that today, India is engaging with the developed countries from a position of strength. “The free trade agreements with Mauritius and the UAE are done. The first tranche of the FTA with Australia is also completed. The second tranche is likely to happen soon. We have concluded talks with the four-nation EFTA block,” he explained.

Goyal also said that India’s ability to manage uncertainty and prepare itself for cooperation with like-minded nations is going to define its future. “Amid global uncertainty, PM Narendra Modi is sure of Bharat’s rapid growth. Domestic demand powering growth, infra investment, and growth story getting stronger, is intrinsic to the Indian thinking,” he averred.

He also reminded the congregation that India has shown unwavering resilience even as it has lurched from one crisis to another. “India looks at converting every challenge into an opportunity. We have braved Y2K, the global economic crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic. India overcame all the difficulties during the pandemic. We provided 2.5 billion doses of vaccines. That is the true strength of the India growth story,” Goyal said.

India’s growth story has an inclusive approach, according to Goyal. Forty million families have been provided with free homes in the past decade, he added.

Goyal’s comments come at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S.-India trade talks are continuing and a possible bilateral trade deal to ‘address the trade barriers’ between the two nations is likely to be concluded successfully.

“I am pleased to announce that India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, sharing the status of India-U.S. bilateral talks.

In the post, he asserted that as PM Modi is a ‘good friend’ of his and that the two countries are expected to conclude soon, hinting at the possibility of the trade deal soon.