Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 27 : Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday targeted the previous UPA government led by Congress, alleging that trade deals signed during that period were not done in the country's interests.
Referring to the recently signed India-UK Free Trade Agreement, the Union minister said the UKhad not been interested in concluding the treaty with India during the Congress government, apparently due to a lack of confidence.
"Discussions for the UK FTA began twenty-five years ago. The discussion continued for years and eventually came to a halt. The differences kept increasing, you must remember how weak India's economy was twenty-five years ago, and the United Kingdom used to consider itself a world power," Piyush Goyal said.
He also referred to how India was once considered among the 'Fragile Five' countries.
"The world used to count India as one of the five weakest economies in the world. This was a misfortune eleven years ago, when the Congress government under the UPA was at the Centre," the Union Minister said.
"The whole world also had lost confidence in India. The United Kingdom decided around 2013 that it did not want to enter into a trade agreement with India. So the talks, which started twenty-five years ago, remained incomplete"
Attacking Congress further, he alleged that the previous government had signed trade deals detrimental to India's interests. He alleged that the Congress government was increasing trade with countries that were not in the country's interest.
He supplemented that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government that came into power in 2014 that made all the difference, for the better.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government came in 2014. You all know, for Modi ji, national interest is paramount, this is Modi's way of working," he added. "Unless the interests of farmers, labourers, and businesses are protected, PM Modi shall not sign any agreement."
"In the last 11 years, Prime Minister Modi has, on the one hand, strengthened India's economy from Fragile 5 to Top 5 and by 2027 we will be the third largest economy in the world. On the other hand, he has built friendships across the world and undoubtedly, he is the tallest and most popular leader in the world today... This Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a result of the trust that Prime Minister Modi has earned across the world, which has enabled us to negotiate and enter into agreements with developed countries with whom we are not in competition but are complementary. It will open doors to many opportunities, it is the most comprehensive free trade agreement signed by India till date...," he later told reporters on the sidelines of the Mumbai event.
The much-awaited India-UK Free Trade Agreement was signed on Thursday, in the presence of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, during PM Modi's two-day visit to the UK.
On May 6, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Starmer announced the successful conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This forward-looking Agreement is aligned with India's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and complements the growth aspirations of both countries.
Both nations desire to increase their trade to USD 120 billion by 2030.
The UK government had said that India's average tariff on UK products will drop from 15 per cent to 3 per cent under the India-UK FTA.