**Summary:**
On July 16, 2025, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal convened a video conference with Heads of Commercial Wings from 74 Indian Missions across 61 countries to review and enhance India's global trade and commercial engagement strategy. The meeting involved detailed presentations from key Indian Missions on trade promotion activities, market access challenges, and sectoral insights.
Minister Goyal emphasized the critical role of the Missions as the primary point of contact for India's commercial and economic diplomacy, tasking them with promoting Indian exports and fostering stronger relationships with host countries. Key directives included:
* Proactive gathering of trade intelligence, including market trends, sectoral developments, and regulatory frameworks.
* Sharing of effective strategies and best practices for trade promotion and investment attraction.
* Focus on four key performance indicators (KPIs): Investment, Trade, Tourism, and Technology.
* Regular dissemination of trade advisories to identify demand-supply gaps for Indian exporters.
* Strategic interventions to address Market Access Barriers, including Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
* Enhanced alignment between Missions and the Department of Commerce through data-driven planning and the use of digital platforms like the DGFT Trade Connect Portal.
* Collaborative efforts to support India's objectives in multilateral forums such as the WTO, particularly in agriculture, public stockholding for food security, and fisheries subsidies.
Operational and logistical challenges were discussed, including resource adequacy, efficient posting of commercial officers, and improved coordination for the Make in India and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. Minister Goyal urged greater synergy among Missions, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), and Indian industry stakeholders to achieve India's goal of becoming a global export leader, aligned with the vision 2047. The Commerce Secretary highlighted the critical role of Indian missions abroad for overall growth of Indian export and investment in India.
Key Entities Referenced
Piyush Goyal: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry
Indian Missions: Representations of India in foreign countries, specifically the Commercial Wings
Department of Commerce: A department within the Indian government responsible for trade and commerce.
WTO: World Trade Organization, a multilateral forum
Make in India: An initiative by the Indian government to encourage domestic manufacturing
Production Linked Incentive PLI: A scheme to give companies incentives for enhancing domestic production
Export Promotion Councils EPCs: Organizations that promote exports from India.
DGFT Trade Connect Portal: Digital platform to enhance trade
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri
Piyush Goyal interacts with Heads of Commercial
Wings in Indian Missions Abroad
Posted On: 17 JUL 2025 8:35PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal interacted with Heads of the Commercial
Wings posted in 74 Indian Missions abroad across 61 countries on 16th July 2025 through video conference
to review and strengthen India’s global trade and commercial engagement strategy.
During the meeting, key Indian Missions made detailed presentations on trade promotion activities, challenges
in market access, and sectoral insights. The Minister acknowledged the Missions as the first point of contact
for India’s commercial and economic diplomacy, underscoring their responsibility in promoting Indian
exports and facilitating stronger engagement with host countries.
In his address, the Minister emphasized the need for:
Proactive trade intelligence gathering, including updates on market trends, sectoral developments, and
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regulatory frameworks.
Sharing of innovative strategy and best practices, that yielded good results in trade promotion and
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attracting investment into India.
Focus on 4 KPIs i.e., Investment, Trade, Tourism and Technology, which has also been quoted by
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Hon’ble PM as pillars for India’s growth.
Regular dissemination of trade advisories to identify demand-supply gaps and opportunities for Indian
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exporters.
Strategic interventions to address Market Access Barriers including Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), Sanitary
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and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
Enhanced alignment between Missions and the Department of Commerce through data-driven planning
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and effective use of digital platforms like the DGFT Trade Connect Portal.
Collaborative efforts to support India’s objectives in multilateral forums such as the WTO, especially in
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key areas like agriculture, public stockholding for food security, and fisheries subsidies.
The meeting also addressed operational and logistical challenges, including the need for adequate resources,
efficient posting of commercial officers, and improved coordination to support initiatives under the Make in
India and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes.
The Minister called for greater synergy among Missions, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), and Indian
industry stakeholders to achieve the nation’s ambition of becoming a global export powerhouse.
Prior to the Minister's interaction with the mission, the Commerce Secretary started the interaction
emphasizing the critical role of Indian missions at abroad for overall growth of Indian export and investment
in India to achieve the goal of vision 2047.
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Abhishek Dayal/Abhijith Narayanan/Shabbir Azad
(Release ID: 2145647)