Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry attended 10^th EAS EMM (East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting) today on 17^th September 2022 in Siem Reap City, Cambodia. The meeting saw representation from all 10 ASEAN countries as well as 8 partner countries viz. Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA.

The Ministers exchanged views on global and regional economic developments including the outcomes of the 12^th WTO Ministerial Conference, post-pandemic economic recovery efforts, measures adopted to mitigate the impact of global supply chains disruptions and strong inflation pressure.

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to recover and build greater economic resilience in the region by facilitating trade, investment, and secure and resilient supply chains; undertaking supportive fiscal policy measures to encourage economic growth; and ensuring that strong macroeconomic fundamentals are in place to retain sustainable growth in the region. The Ministers also noted the necessity of closer and deeper cooperation and coordination in the region to mitigate the negative economic impact on the post-pandemic recovery.

Smt. Anupriya Patel in her remarks acknowledged the pivotal role of EAS in strengthening multilateralism and promoting peace, stability, and economic prosperity in the region. She commended the ASEAN Secretariat for putting together a useful analysis of regional and global economic developments including economic developments in EAS economies which shows that India did well with highest GDP growth of 8.7% among EAS economies in 2021 and in spite of a forecast of some tapering of GDP growth in 2022 and 2023, India is set to maintain top position in GDP growth among EAS economies.

Smt. Anupriya Patel informed the meeting that despite numerous challenges & constraints, India has successfully administered more than 2 billion vaccine doses including booster doses to its citizens and is currently focused on vaccinating all eligible citizens. She reiterated India’s willingness to collaborate with East Asian partners in the production of vaccines, generic drugs and medical technologies used for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The Ministers welcomed the successful outcomes of the Twelfth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held on 12-17 June 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland and resolved to strengthen the rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable, and transparent multilateral trading system. Smt. Anupriya Patel while giving her views on the Ministerial Conference stated that the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) decision enabling ease of authorisation for production of patented vaccines will boost vaccine equity, accessibility and affordability and will result in faster pandemic response in future.

The Ministers noted Indonesia’s priorities for its G20 Presidency for 2022 and expressed their support for Indonesia’s Presidency under the theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. Smt. Anupriya Patel congratulated Indonesia for its ongoing successful G20 Presidency and assured that India, as a member of the G20 Troika and the incoming G20 Presidency, stands in solidarity with Indonesia and supports Indonesian priorities in the G20.

Smt. Anupriya Patel reiterated India's commitment to strengthening the EAS as an ASEAN-led organisation and its support in collective actions of the EAS Forum aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic and strengthening regional economic architecture.

 

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