The 3rd TIWG meeting under India’s G20 Presidency began with an International Seminar on “Trade Infrastructure” with the theme “Enhancing Logistics and Empowering MSMEs for integration with GVCs.” This was anchored by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Delegates from the member countries, invitee countries, international organisations, industry, and PM GatiShakti Network Planning Group etc were present at the conference to engage in constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas in the domain of trade infrastructure.

An Exhibition on “PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP)” and use cases, has also been put up on sidelines of 3^rd TIWG for three days. The exhibition has been designed by the Logistics Division, DPIIT, in partnership with National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC).

The exhibits from various Ministries like Railways, Road Transport, Ports & Shipping, Telecom, New and Renewable Energy, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Women and Child Development has been showcased. It also elucidates the National Logistics Policy (NLP) for efficiency in services including the Logistics Data Bank (LDB), Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) and Bill of Lading.

The Seminar and Exhibition were inaugurated by Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh; Secretary Commerce, Shri Sunil Barthwal; and Special Secretary, DPIIT Ms Sumita Dawra.

Recognizing the crucial role of logistics in expanding a country's participation in Global Value Chains (GVCs) and the potential of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to contribute to global trade, this conference aimed to explore key strategies and initiatives that can drive integration of countries into GVCs and foster the growth of MSMEs.

Special Secretary, DPIIT Ms Sumita Dawra set the context for the seminar. She highlighted the importance of infrastructure planning, investments, building a competitive logistics ecosystem. The transformative reforms of Government of India for multimodal Infrastructure development to facilitate EoDB and Ease of Living, and the EXIM trade through Government’s flagship initiative namely PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 13^th October 2021, for building Next Generation Infrastructure, was showcased. An Audio-Visual on PM GatiShakti was also demonstrated in the seminar.

Secretary DPIIT, Shri Rajesh Kumar, in his keynote address welcomed the G20 delegates. He stated that the Government of India has committed a historic amount of capital investment in development of multimodal infrastructure for last and first mile connectivity. India has improved its ranking in global Logistics performance index in 2023, due to reforms like National Logistics Policy, State Logistics Policy, LEADS survey, digital initiatives like Logistics Data Bank (LDB), Port Connectivity plan etc. He encouraged the G20 and participants to leverage this platform for cross learnings from international experience for logistics efficiency.

Shri Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary stated that cooperation among G20 nations can bring out collaborative outcomes for the whole world. “There is a need for forward-looking Infrastructure to realign with the restructuring of Global Value Chains, changing trade and supply chain patterns and relocation of sourcing and production process. All this has implication on Infrastructure needs and thus, infrastructure planning must serve it,” he added. Seminar on Trade Finance and Trade Technology was organized during 1^st TIWG and 2^nd TIWG respectively.

The role of Infrastructure, Logistics and MSME in GVCs was discussed through two panel discussions with international experts, industry leaders, public sector experts etc. Eminent speakers from India and abroad deliberated and ideated on how to bring together G20 on building resilient GVCs by building a robust logistics ecosystem with strengthened physical and digital infrastructure to support the International Trade.

Session 1 highlighted ‘The Role of Logistics in Expanding Global Value Chains’. An enriching discussion with panelists from International Organizations such as United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and Industry domain like Horizon Industrial Parks and Safexpress was held.

Enhancing regional connectivity, improving better market access and trade facilitation, global production networks and their impact on infrastructure development, growing demand for integrated logistics parks, paradigm shift in focus from transport to logistics infrastructure; role of last and first mile connectivity and digitization of EXIM process for seamless trade, sharing of best-practices were among the key points discussed during the panel discussion.

Session 2 emphasized on “MSMEs Going Global: Integration with Global Value Chains”. The distinguished panelists from Ministry of MSME, NITI Aayog, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) led the discussions.

MSME sector contributes one-third of India’s GDP, half of India’s exports and is the second largest employer. The panel discussion revolved around the challenges and solutions of access to finance, access to information and access to technology of MSMEs. The role of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform was also discussed as a platform to MSMEs to participate in trade and economy.

Seminar ended with a positive note on enhancing cooperation and collaboration for Trade Infrastructure. The aim, under India’s G20 Presidency, is to build global synergies that lead the world towards finding common solutions for a resilient and sustainable One Earth, One Family, One Future.

YP/GP/JD

 

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