Indian commerce minister to attend G20 ministerial meeting in Japan

NEW DELHI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will be leading a delegation for the upcoming G20 ministerial meeting on trade and digital economy to be held in Japan, officials said here on Thursday.

The ministerial level talks are scheduled to be held on June 8 to 9 at Tsukuba city along the Ibaraki prefecture in Japan.

"The Indian commerce minister will discuss developments in the global trade situation, WTO matters and digital trade. He will also hold dialogue with other participating Trade ministers on current international trade and investments. For the first time ministers of the ministry of electronics and information technology and commerce will participate in a joint session on Digital Economy at the G20 ministerial meeting," reads a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Officials said the G20 trade ministers deliberations will form part of the G20 summit leaders agenda in the formal discussions and will also be a part of the summit declaration.

According to commerce ministry officials, ever since G20 was formed, India has been actively participating in the meetings.

"In his first visit abroad after assuming charge, Piyush Goyal will take this opportunity to interact with various trade ministers of participating countries including host Japan," the statement said.

"The commerce minister will hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of G20 in order to sensitize India's core interests in trade and investment issues and build coalition with likeminded countries for defending the interests of developing countries."

Over 50 ministers will get together for the first time in the G20 history in Tsukuba, Japan, to discuss how G20 economies can promote trade and investment and maximize benefits from the development of the digital economy and technologies to ensure sustainable growth of the global economy, officials said.