The External Affairs Ministry today stressed that India and the US remain interested in a mutually beneficial trade deal between two complementary economies and look forward to concluding it. Briefing media in New Delhi this afternoon, Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US as far back as 13 February last year. He highlighted that since then, the two sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement.
He informed that both countries have been close to a deal on several occasions. Referring to recent comments by the US Secretary of Commerce, the spokesperson said the characterisation of these discussions in the reported remarks is not accurate. He underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have also spoken on the phone on eight occasions last year, covering different aspects of a wide-ranging partnership.
Replying to a query on an announcement made by the United States to withdraw from various international organisations and bodies of the United Nations, Mr Jaiswal said India stands for multilateralism and believes that global issues need consultative and collaborative action by all countries. He added that since its inception, the International Solar Alliance has made significant progress in advancing its mandate to promote solar energy deployment and cooperation among its 125 member countries. He said India will continue to advance its goals.
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