Pic: PIB
Though India participated in the signing proceedings and the ministerial meeting held in Singapore, it did not formally sign the agreements as domestic approval processes are under way and will be completed after formation of the new government, a release from the Indian ministry of commerce and industry said.
These agreements will enter into force after at least five IPEF partners complete their internal legal procedures for ratification, acceptance or approval.
The Indian delegation was led by secretary in the department of commerce Sunil Barthwal.
The IPEF Ministerial Statement of 14 November 2023 declared substantial conclusion of negotiations for Clean Economy, Fair Economy, and the overarching Agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. Pursuant to this, the IPEF partners completed legal review of the text for these agreements and domestic approval processes.
The IPEF Clean Economy Agreement will facilitate investments, concessional financing, joint collaborative projects, workforce development and technical assistance and capacity building for industries, in particular micro, small and medium enterprises.
A new cooperative work programme (CWP) led by India on e-waste urban mining was announced by the group. This will facilitate a more sustainable e-waste management system for IPEF partners.
At the investor forum at the meeting, four Indian projects pitched their concepts and 10 Indian climate tech start-ups presented their business case before the global investor community.
The ministerial meeting decided to encourage holding of first meeting of the three supply chain institutional committees virtually in July this year and in-person in Washington DC in the later half of 2024.
It was also decided to hold next ministerial meeting virtually in September this year and work towards holding the first meeting of IPEF Council and the Joint Commission in 2025.
IPEF was launched on May 23, 2022, at Tokyo, comprising 14 countries: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)